Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands
by abunchofrandomnumbers
Summary: [indefinite hiatus] When Hekapoo gets divorced and suffers a drinking problem, the MHC decides to suspend her and send her to Earth. Now living with a boy named Marco Diaz, he and Hekapoo go on crazy and wild adventures while fighting a group of her ex-husbands who want her back.
1. Hekapoo (Unconsciously) Comes To Earth

Revision #3 (7/26/18)

Thanks to a guest for pointing out another mistake.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 1: Hekapoo (Unconsciously) Comes To Earth

* * *

It was quite a beautiful day in Mewni. The sun was shining and tons of native birds soared through the cooling air. The streets were filled with the many inhabitants of the kingdom, some working and some just basking in the glorious day.

Right in the middle of the kingdom stood a marvelous white castle. It was so tall that it almost reached the clouds. Inside was pretty much the same as the outside. Servants and guards ran around the grand halls, patrolling around and getting work done for today.

But somewhere in a small, private library, there was nothing but a certain queen and silence. The queen of Mewni sat down on the only chair in the room, reading a book with the only source of light, a lamp, hanging above the table. Right beside her on the floor lied multiple towers of books, some short while others were on the verge of crashing to the floor.

The queen skimmed through the pages of the book, trying to find the solution to her predicament. It was quite a thick book, possibly over 800 pages long. She was halfway through the book already, and she was losing hope of finding the solution in this one.

Suddenly, the silence was suddenly disrupted by a loud ringing coming from inside one of the queen's pocket, making her jump with a yelp, and push the unstable book towers over, adding more noise to the once quiet room. She groaned and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a small pocket mirror, and snapped it open with her thumb. Usually, her way of non-physical communication would be a wall mirror in her bedroom, but ever since her predicament came up, she had kept a small pocket mirror just in case it would happen again.

Once the pocket mirror was opened, words on the mirror itself read, "Incoming Call: Rhombulus."

"Accept." She said with a hint of concern. Immediately, the image of a crystal with one eye appeared on the small mirror. He was panting heavily, his face covered in soot. He also seemed to be hiding behind a flipped over table, evident by the wooden background.

"Queen Moon! She's doing it again!" Rhombulus practically yelled. An object whizzed by his head, causing the crystal-headed humanoid to yelp. The screen now redirected upwards above the table to the sight of a pale-skinned, redheaded, female demon who wore an orange dress with a flame design, and orange horns with a small floating flame in between them protruding from her head, on top of a table with one hand holding a bottle and one hand holding a blade.

"THAT JERK! THAT HEART-BREAKING DINK! RAH! I'M GONNA RIP OUT HIS GUTS AND STRANGLE HIM WITH THEM!" She yelled with furious eyes as she flailed her arms around. The screen was brought back to Rhombulus, who quickly let out a "Hurry!" before the screen went black.

Queen Moon closed the mirror with a click and sighed exasperatedly. This is now the fourth time it happened this week. A member of the Magic High Comission and her dear friend, Hekapoo, recently got divorced by her 15th husband. It just suddenly happened. They were both happy together - at least she was. Then, suddenly, he announced that he "doesn't love her anymore" and wanted a divorce.

She did not take it well.

Ever since then, she started drinking all of it away, spending most of her time in bars or just drinking at home. The queen thought she would get over it in a week, but it had been one month already, and over time, it got worse. It started with her being half drunk at work, then it went on to her being fully wasted, which disrupted work. And now, she started having violent episodes, yelling at others at best, and trashing and burning everything at worst.

It was the reason the queen stayed up most nights. She wanted to find a solution to this. She wanted to fix her friend. The queen had read countless books on how to deal with breakups and drinking problems, but none of those worked on her - some even made it worse.

Queen Moon got up from her chair and took a deep, long breath. She stepped away from the table, and pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors. She stabbed the air, and ripped a portal open. With one last sigh, she walked through it.

Looks like she'll have to resort to Plan B.

* * *

The queen sat down on an office chair. In front of her was a long wooden table with similar looking chairs beside it. All but one chair was occupied. Rhombulus sat on the chair to the queen's left, a goat-like creature wearing a robe sat on her right, a large skull with horns made out of swords with a chubby, glass-like body that contained what seemed to be space sat beside Rhombulus, and a small blue man with a crystal on his head floated beside the goat.

"Now, I suppose all of you know why we're here today." Queen Moon started. Everyone nodded in response.

"Alright. So we all know that Hekapoo had been quite... disruptive as of late, and I intend to stop it. We all do. But unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a solution to this, and unless anyone has a proper solution, I'm afraid that I will have to resort to Plan B."

Rhombulus raised his snake arm up. Queen Moon sighed, "Rhombulus, if your solution is to crystalize her, then just put your hand down." Rhombulus sighed and put his hand down.

The goat-like creature raised an arm up. "Yes, Lekmet?" The queen asked. A series of goat sounds came out of Lekmet's mouth. To a normal person, the sounds would mean nothing, but to the council members, they understand every sound.

"I'm sorry, Lekmet, but I don't think your healing power can heal... whatever Hekapoo has." The queen sadly said. "Okay, how about you, Glossaryck?"

"I have tried all the spells I could on her, but none seem to work."

"Omnitraxus?"

"Unless I can change history without completely screwing over the timeline, then I got nothing."

The queen hung her head low. Sadness and defeat were now flowing through her veins. She tried to think of any other solution, anything that could help her dear friend, but nothing came up.

"All in favor of Plan B, raise your hand." She said sadly. All the members raised their hands up, some reluctantly. The queen sighed and stood up from her chair. The room remained silent as Queen Moon pulled out her pocket mirror and snapped it open.

With one last sigh, she spoke, "Call Angi-"

Suddenly, Hekapoo bursted through the doors of the room with two bottles of hard liquor in each hand. "Yoooo! I heard we were *hic* having a meeting! Hehe *hic* hehe!" She said, her words heavily slurred.

Queen Moon glared at the drunk demon, and snapped her pocket mirror shut. "Hekapoo, we need to talk." She said.

"Of course we do! It's a *hic* meeting after all!" She started drunkenly dancing around the room.

The queen crossed her arms, "No, Hekapoo. Listen, your drinking problem have been disrupting work for a whole month now. We all think it's time we did something about it."

Hekapoo stopped dancing around and looked at the queen, her eyebrow raised, "What do you *hic* mean?"

"Hekapoo, we're sending you to Earth."

...

"hahaHaHaHaHAHAHA!" Hekapoo started laughing. She clutched her sides and fell to the floor, dying of laughter. The council members just stared at the laughing demon, some with conerned faces and some with disappointed looks. The laughing continued for a minute until it finally died down, and she stood up. She wiped a tear from her eye and looked around the room, still letting a few chuckles out. When she saw all the looks she got, she started to worry a bit.

"Wait... you're *hic* serious?" She asked.

"Yes. All of us have been looking for solutions for your problem, but none of them seemed to work. So we decided that it would be best for you to stay on Earth for a while. It could help you clear your mind from your problems."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and she hastily got up from the floor, "W-whoa, wait! What about my job? Who'll *hic* watch over all portal acti-*hic*-vity and make dimensional scissors? *hic*"

"Don't worry. Rhombulus will take care of that."

Hekapoo's eyes went wide as dinner plates, and she snapped her gaze at Rhombulus, and glared back at Moon. "Are you *hic* serious?! You're giving my job to that mor-*hic*-on?!" She pointed a finger at the crystal-head. Rhombulus let out a "Hey!", and started rambling on about his intelligence, but Hekapoo didn't care enough to listen.

The queen managed to calm the crystal-head down, who crossed his arms with a huff. "Yes, unfortunately..." She mumbled the last part, "I've seen him forge scissors, and he's... 'capable'. So he'll take your position for the time being."

"And you all agreed to *hic* this?!" Sh gestured to all the members.

"Yes." They all responded. "Unfortunately..."

"Don't be so angry, Hekapoo." Glossaryck started, "Earth is not such a bad place. I've been there myself a few times. If you avoid all the bad places, like... what's it called, Florida? If you avoid places like those, it's quite nice. It'll definitely help you get your mind off things."

Queen Moon nodded, "Yes. Plus, you won't be alone. I know someone there who's willing to let you stay with them."

"You guys can't be *hic* serious."

"Yes, we are. Also, we're taking away your dimensional scissors and every single liquor bottle you have."

Hekapoo's hands immediately went over to her dress pocket, where her scissors were safely kept, "What?! Why?!"

"Well, we can't have you drunkenly creating portals everywhere on Earth, can we?"

Hekapoo started to back away from the table away, a mix fear and anger in her eyes. "You are not taking me to *hic* Earth..."

The queen narrowed her eyes, "Hekapoo..."

The demon swiftly turned around and ran for the doors. But before she could even make it a few feet from them, she tripped herself, and with a yelp, face-planted onto the floor, knocking herself out.

The council members just stared at the unconscious demon, half of them confused and the other half just having dead-panned faces.

"Wow." Omnitraxus said.

The queen sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Let's just... pack her stuff up and take her to a carriage."

The members nodded. Glossaryck floated over to Hekapoo's body and performed a levitation spell on her, making a beam of light emit from his crystal and surrounding it around her.

Queen Moon sat back down with a huff and rubbed her temples. She snapped her pocket mirror open again.

"Call Angie Diaz."

* * *

Somewhere in Echo Creek Academy, a Hispanic boy sat down on his classroom desk, jotting down notes on his notebook. He wore a red hoodie, a pair of dark gray skinny jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. His hair was nicely combed, and his teeth were brushed thoroughly. Finally, a mole laid right under his right eye, probably the most eye-catching feature about his face.

All around him was a classroom full of bored students, his focused look contrasting with their uninterested ones. Some had their head propped up on their arms, trying not to succumb to the boredom, while some had already failed, snoozing lightly on their desks. In front of the class was an old woman - no doubt the teacher - who was explaining an equation, but her words fell on deaf (or in this instance, bored) ears.

A click emanated from the speakers, followed by a brief static before a shaky voice said, "Marco Diaz to the... p-principal's office. Marco Diaz to the principal's o-office, p-please."

The Hispanic boy, Marco, stood up from his seat, a cocky expression . "Ooh, looks like someone's in trouble." He celebrated as he walked up to the front of the class.

"So I guess everyone who voted me 'Safest Kid' must be feeling pretty embarrassed right about now." He leaned in to the teacher and whispered, "Do I need a hall pass?"

"Would you just go already?!" She snapped, making Marco whimper and speed walk out the room.

He walked through hallways of the school until eventually making it to the door to the principal's office. Through the frosted glass, he could see multiple large figures on the other side. Confused, he slowly opened the door and poked his head in.

"Uh, Principal Skeeves?" He asked. Once he got a full view of everything, his face paled. Inside the room were the council members, all standing by the windows. Principal Skeeves was sitting behind his desk, with Rhombulus pointing his snake arms towards his neck, his one eye glaring down the short man.

"M-Marco, my boy!" The principal called out, fear clear in his voice, "I want you to meet your new... uh... exchange student... yeah, exchange student, H-Hekapoo."

Marco raised an eyebrow and brought his gaze towards the figure sitting in front of the desk. Hekapoo was leaning over with one arm on her thighs while the other had a bag of ice on her forehead. A duffel bag was on the floor beside her. From what he could see, it was clear she didn't want to be there.

"Huh?" He asked.

Principal Skeeves laughed nervously, "Look, I need a responsible, never-take chances type to... k-keep an eye on her, and who better than you, t-the safe kid." He was shaking nervously, his sweat dampening his suit.

"Whoa whoa whoa, w-wait." Marco brought his arms in front of him, "What the heck is happening? Who the heck are you guys?" He pointed to the others.

Queen Moon sighed, "Look, Marco, who we are is not important right now. We just need you and your parents to look over her for a while. And yes, your parents do know about this."

Marco glanced around the room, a million questions running through his mind. His gaze fell onto the principal, who was staring at him with pleading eyes.

"Um... o-okay?" He said.

"Okay, well," Glossaryck clapped his hands, "That about does it. If you'll excuse us, we have tons of complaints we have to go through. Goodbye!" Queen Moon ripped a portal open, shocking Marco. Every one of the council members except Hekapoo went through it, with Rhombulus making a slow exit as he kept his snake arms and glare onto scared principal.

Once Rhombulus went through the portal, it disappeared. Principal Skeeves let out a whimper and promptly passed out from fear. Marco was still shocked frozen by the events that just transpired, his gaze remaining on the spot where the portal had been. Eventually, his gaze fell on the redheaded demon, who was still glaring into nothing. Afraid that she would lash out on him, he slowly approached the grumpy demon. Once he was arms-length from her, he just stood there frozen, not knowing what to say.

Eventually, he let out a few words, "U-um... hi?" He awkwardly waved at her. Hekapoo glanced at him from the corner of her eye, and went back to glaring at nothing. "Hey." She replied in a cold tone.

There was nothing but silence right after. Marco nervously rubbed his arm. He couldn't seem to speak, as every time his mouth opened, it would simply close again. Fortunately, that didn't last long, "So, I should probably... show you around?" His statement sounded more like a question.

Hekapoo groaned, "Ugh, fine. Whatever." She stood up and tossed the ice pack, which prompted Marco to raise an eyebrow. She grabbed her bag, and walked past Marco to the door. The boy hurried to catch up to the demon, leaving an unconscious Principal Skeeves on the floor.

XxXxX

"So... what are you exactly? And who were those guys?" The two walked around the school. The halls of the school were currently being filled with students who were eager to get home or hang out with friends after a long and boring day.

"My name's Hekapoo. I'm a demon, and those guys back there were the Magic High Commission." She said.

"Magic High Commission?"

A sigh escaped her lips, "Basically, we're the ones who watch over all magic activity in the multiverse."

"Wait, magic?"

She rolled her eyes, "I forgot, you humans don't have magic. Anyway, I'm the one who *hic* makes these things called dimensional scissors that basically let you rip *hic* a portal open to another dimension and the one who watches over portal activity."

Marco was amazed, "Wow, that's kind of awesome."

She snorted, "Yeah, well, it can get a bit *hic* boring sometimes."

Marco's amazement was now replaced by curiosity when he heard that final hiccup. He also noticed the familiar wobble in her walk that a drunk person would have. One he was all too familiar with. He wasn't called the Safe Kid for nothing.

"Um, Hekapoo, can I ask you something?"

"Mhm."

"Are you... drunk?" Almost immediately, he felt a stinging sensation on the back of his head, as if he was just hit by a flaming towel.

"Ow! What the?" He glanced over at Hekapoo who had retracted her hand from behind his head.

She glared at him, "I'm not *hic* drunk." He didn't buy it, evident by his arched eyebrow.

"I can see it in your walk and smell it in your breath, you're definitely drunk."

"No I'm not!" She smacked the back of his head again. He winced in pain, "Okay, seriously, what the heck were those for? And how the heck are you doing that without fire hands or something?"

"Again, I am not drunk. Not *hic* drun- w-whoa!" For the second time today, she had tripped on herself. This is probably going to be a common occurrence. Fortunately, Marco was able to catch her arm before she took another embarrassing faceplant.

"Whoa, got you!" He said. He pulled her up as she struggled to balance herself. Once she was on her feet, she noticed that Marco was still holding her arm tightly.

"Marco, you're *hic* still holding onto me." She pointed to his hand. He quickly detached himself and put his arm to his side, a faint blush appearing on his face as he mumbled an apology.

Hekapoo rolled her eyes, "Look, let's just *hic* get to your house or whatever."

Marco nodded, and they started walking out of the school and to his house - after helping her up a few times when she stumbled.

* * *

After helping Hekapoo up from numerous bushes and lawns, they finally made it to Marco's house. While Marco went to open the door, Hekapoo looked up and inspected his house. It was nice, and it had a cozy feel to it, but she had seen better houses. She honestly thought that Marco would live in a complete dump.

Once Marco had the door open, she brought her gaze back down and followed him as he went inside. When Hekapoo entered his home, she started inspecting the inside as well. It was defintiely a lot nicer, than the outside, but it could've been better.

"Marco!" Two adults - presumably his mom and dad - rushed from the couch and ran towards him. They both hugged not only him, but her as well, with the strength of five bears. Both of them struggled to breath.

"M-mom. Gck-Dad. B-breath. Air."

"Oh, sorry." His dad said as the two released them from their death hug. Hekapoo was panting and looked at the two parents with a surprised look. Wow, are they strong.

"Ah, you must be Hekapoo." The woman said. "I'm Angie, and this is my husband, Rafael." She pointed to the big bear-like man.

"Hi! It's great to meet you." Rafael extended an arm to her, offering a handshake. Hekapoo stared at the arm and turned her gaze to the smiling man, looking at him as if he would crush her in another death hug. She reluctantly shook his hand, "Um, yeah, hi to you too."

"Oh, I've heard all about you from Moon. I've heard you have a drinking problem?" Angie asked.

"Wait, drinking problem?" Marco asked as he stared at the embarrassed demon.

Hekapoo sighed, "Yup, I have a *hic* drinking problem. And yes, I am *hic* drunk," She crossed her arms, "It's the sole reason why I'm *hic* here in the first place. They thought they could just send me here and *hic* take my job away from me."

"Oh. Um, wow." Marco awkwardly rubbed his arms. An awkward silence fell upon the four. Marco's parents tried their best to keep their smiles up.

After a minute, Angie broke the silence, "Well, Marco, why don't you show Hekapoo her room?"

"Um, yeah sure. Come on, Hekapoo." He gestured for her to follow him upstairs. Marco's parents watched as the two others walked up the stairs.

Once they were out of sight, Angie sighed, "You think she'll be alright?"

"Hopefully." Her husband replied sadly, placing his hands on her shoulders and showing his look of concern to the staircase.

Marco and Hekapoo walked through the second floor corridors, and stopped when they reached a yellow door.

"Well, this is your room." He opened the door and Hekapoo took a look inside. It was not small, but not big too. The walls and ceiling were painted a nice warm yellow, and the floor was simple unpainted oak wood. On the right was a one person bed with white sheets and pillows, and on the left was a walk-in closet, an oak desk and chair, and multiple levels of shelves screwed onto the wall. The wall right in front of them had a small circular window where the rest of the neighborhood was shown.

Marco rubbed the back of his neck, "It's not that much really."

"Eh, it's fine." She entered the room and tossed the duffel bag onto the bed. She sat down on it with a huff and began bouncing on it, testing its sturdiness. Once she was done with that, she walked over to the window and looked down onto the houses and people below.

Marco just watched her go around her room, awkwardly fidgeting at how out of place he felt. Hekapoo finally walked away from the desk and chair, and approached him.

"Where's the nearest liquor store?" She asked.

Marco's eyebrows snapped together, "Wait, what?"

She placed her index finger on his chest, "I said where's the nearest liquor store?"

"U-um, I don't think you should... you know, since your drinking problem and-" He was cut short when Hekapoo conjured a fireball in her hand with the snap of her fingers.

"Marco. Liquor store. Where is it?" She said in a menacing tone.

Marco started sweating heavily, his heart going a million miles an hour from fear. He gulped, "Six blocks down the street."

Hekapoo grinned, "Good." She walked past him and went on her way, but not before smacking the back of Marco's head again.

"Ow!"

Unknown to the two, a tall figure sat outside on a branch of a nearby tree, looking through the window with a pair of binoculars.

"Hehe, got you now, H-poo."

* * *

The store was quiet, which is normal for a weekday. The only sounds that could be heard were the low humming of the freezers and lights and the soft whizzing of the fan. The cashier, a tall blonde man, was reading a book with his feet propped up on the counter. He was so invested in his book that he hadn't heard the ringing of the bell above the door, and it only took the loud bash of a whiskey bottle on the counter to get his attention.

He looked up from his book and saw the redheaded demon looking at him with half-lidded yet irritated eyes. Not having seen a demon before, he didn't know what to do. So he decided to just stick with just saying what a cashier for a liquor store would say.

"Uh, ID?" He said with clear fear in his voice. Hekapoo now glared at him and snapped her fingers, conjuring a fireball.

"How's this for ID?" She snarled.

The man gulped, "Y-yup, you're- you're good." He quickly placed his book and scanned the bottle.

"Th-that'll be $39.95, p-please." His voice was shaky. Hekapoo dug through her pockets and pulled out $40, and slammed it onto the counter.

"Keep the change." She grabbed the bottle and kicked the door open on her way out, leaving a terrified cashier to faint.

Hekapoo looked around the empty parking lot. There was a bit of sun left above the horizon, and the night sky full of stars was starting to show. The only sounds around were crickets chirping and the occasional honking from the roads nearby.

Hekapoo sighed as she took a seat on the curb. She took the plastic cover off the cap, and took off the cap with one twist. She stared down the neck of the bottle, sadness and regret plastered all over her face.

"What the heck is wrong with me?" She muttered to herself before taking a swig.

She brought the bottle away from her lips and wiped her mouth with her arm. The demon started staring off into nothingness, not thinking nor moving, just staring. The chirping of the crickets soothed her ears. She slowly closed her eyes, letting the chirping fill her mind.

"Hekapoo?" Her zen state was immediately broken by the voice of his supposed housemate. She opened her eyes and turned to her left. There he was in his red hoodie, his face just etched of concern.

"Oh, hey." She said in a bored tone as she took another swig of her bottle.

"You... probably shouldn't be drinking, Hekapoo. You were sent here for a reason, you know that?" Marco said, uncertain if he chose the correct words to say.

"Do you really expect me to listen to you?" She said.

Marco sighed and took a seat on the curb beside her. She raised an eyebrow at his action, but shrugged it off and continued drinking.

"So what's your reason?" Marco asked.

"Hm?"

"What's your reason why you're, you know, drinking?" He explained more clearly.

Hekapoo didn't respond for a second. She contemplated on not telling him since it would make him see her as weak, easily succumbing to alcohol abuse. But he was her housemate after all, so she bit.

"Got divorced a month ago." She said sadly.

"Oh." Marco rubbed the back of his neck. He expected that would be the case, but it still surprised him. He didn't know what it feels like to go through a divorce, since he was still a teen.

"Guy dumped me because he 'didn't love me anymore'. It was the most stupid reason I've ever heard." Her features darkened, but she quickly lightened up a bit, knowing she would likely snap. With a sigh, she continued, "I loved him to death, he was the only guy out of the fifteen I've married who I really loved. Unfortunately, it looks like I don't deserve a happy ending." She finished with a sip.

"I- I'm sorry that happened." He turned away, regret flooding his body.

"Don't be. It's not your fault. Plus, I got alcohol to dull the pain." She brought the neck to her mouth, finishing the last of the whiskey.

"Um, uh..." Marco stuttered. Hekapoo raised an eyebrow as she turned to him. His face was pale and he was sweating profusely. He was looking up at something behind her. She turned around, and her features darkened when she saw what - or who, rather - was behind her.

She sighed exasperatedly, "Lucitor."

The figure was tall and buff. He had red slick back hair and dark red horns protruding out of the sides of his head. His gray two-piece business suit and dress shoes covered his red skin. His nails were sharp, his teeth even sharper. The most noticeable thing about him was the third eye right on his forehead.

"So, Hekapoo," The figure started with a booming voice, "This is your new boyfriend, huh?" He gently caressed Marco's neck with his claw.

"W-wait, what? I-I'm not her boyfriend!" Marco's voice was shaky.

Hekapoo pinched the bridge of her nose, "Marco, this here is King Dave Lucitor. My 12th ex-husband who I was forced to marry in order to keep him from snapping," She glared at Dave, "And as you can see, he doesn't know when to quit."

Dave chuckled, "Oh, H-poo, can't you remember the good times we've had? All those laughs we shared? All those soulrises we stared at?"

Hekapoo crossed her arms and her glare intensified, "I only married you because you are so fragile that a small hint of rejection would send you into a fit of rage and possibly destroy Mewni."

"Aw, come on, H-poo, just one last chance." The demon reached out to touch her shoulder, but she swatted it away.

"For the last time, Lucitor, no. And stop calling me H-poo. We're done and that's final."

Dave looked down at the two menacingly, "I thought you would say that, which is why I brought along a couple of friends."

On cue, a red fiery portal appeared behind the three-eyed demon. Out came thirteen other tough looking and menacing creatures and humanoids, all looking ready to fight. Hekapoo stared at the arriving figures, face having a mixed expression of shock and anger. She snapped her head to Dave, her flame glowing bright as ever.

"You brought all my other ex-husbands?!" She yelled.

Dave smirked, "Yup. We all seem to have the same goals, so we agreed that we would help each other out with said goal."

Hekapoo looked towards the group of ex-husbands, "You guys know I'm only one person, right?"

"Then we'll share. Plus, you can clone yourself, remember?"

...

"You guys make me sick."

Dave's smirk fell and he started cracking his knuckles, "Well, enough chit chat. Boys!" He snapped his fingers. All the other ex-husbands charged towards the two.

Hekapoo conjured a fireball and tossed it into one of her exes - a humanoid alligator wearing a black tattered cloth over his white tank top - burning his face and knocking him out. Another one - a rotting zombie -charged towards Marco, bringing his decaying fist up to hit him. Marco instinctively kicked the guy in the nuts and karate-chopped the side of his throat, dismembering his head and sending it flying.

Hekapoo glanced at Marco and was amazed at Marco's skill, "You can fight?"

He elbowed another one in the gut - a humanoid fly the size of Marco. "I know karate. Hiya!" He kicked the fly person in the chin, putting him out of the fight. Another ex came up behind him - a deer in a business suit who stood on his hind legs - and pulled out a club from his gray briefcase and brought it up to swing at Marco, but he was quick enough to notice and sweep kick the deer, then stomp his face into unconsciousness.

Two similarly-looking humanoid, shadowy entities, one with red eyes while the other had yellow eyes, charged at Hekapoo, but she sidestepped them and sent two fireballs their way. Unfortunately, that split-second left her vulnerable to a huge bear who had put her in a headlock.

"Got you!" The bear said with raspy voice. Hekapoo stomped on the bear's paws and elbowed him in the gut. She grabbed his fur and accidentally sent him flying towards Marco.

"Marco! Watch out!" She yelled.

Marco's vision snapped towards the incoming bear. His eyes widened and his instincts kicked in, allowing him to quickly crouch down and avoid the flying mass of fur that crushed a Burmese cat with a jetpack and a space helmet, and a guy covered in thick mud, who were after him.

"You married a bear?" He asked.

"Hey, forgive me if I was a bit adventurous back then." She replied. Their small exchange however distracted them from the last four guys - a really handsome vampire who keeps checking himself out on a mirror, a white-furred, really hyper rabbit, a blacksmith with no arms and a backpack that had numerous long, mechanical arms emerging from it, and a yellow, featureless, decagonal star - who now surrounded them.

"Come on, H-poo, just come back with us, and we'll promise not to kill your little friend here." Dave said.

"In your dreams, Lucitor!" Suddenly, images of Hekapoo emerged from her body. They all formed a circle and conjured fireballs above their heads.

"You can clone yourself?!" Marco asked with as much surprise as possible.

"Yup! Now get in the ring!" Hekapoo yelled. Marco complied and quickly ran inside the ring of Hekapoos.

"Everyone, Ring of Fire!" All the Hekapoos brought their arms down to the ground. Flames emerged from every single fireball and attacked the area around them like flamethrowers. Her ex-husbands yelled and screamed as the fire burned their bodies.

"Retreat! Retreat!" Dave yelled. He ripped a portal open with a pair of dimensional scissors and ran through it, followed by the others - some carrying the others' unconscious bodies. Once every one was through the portal, it closed shut.

All the Hekapoo clones stopped firing and blew out their own flames with their fingers. The real Hekapoo hunched over with her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Marco, who was on the ground protecting himself with his arms, stood up and looked around. There were small fires and scorch marks everywhere, and even some abandoned weapons. He glanced towards the slowly recovering Hekapoo.

"Whoa! Hekapoo, that was amazing!" He complimented.

Hekapoo looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "What?"

"All of your ex-husbands coming at us and us beating them up, and you with that Ring of Fire thing. Everything about that was just amazing!" He threw his arms up as if to further emphasize the amazingness.

Hekapoo smiled, "You really think so?"

"Yeah! Can we do that again?"

Hekapoo's smile widened at the boy's uncontainable excitement, "If you're up for it, then yeah sure."

"Oh, I'm so up for it!" Hekapoo chuckled and the two started walking away from the battleground while Marco continued to babble on.

"We're gonna beat up your ex-husbands, and beat up more of your ex-husbands, and beat them up some more!"

"Okay, slow down there, champ."

"Okay okay, sorry. But still, wow!"

The two continued to walk down the sidewalk under the now starry night sky, leaving the burning and trashed parking-lot-turned-battlefield.

Marco's life had just gotten a little weird and little wild.


	2. Drinking with a Zombie Head

Revision #1 (7/17/18)

(Re-read recommended)

Sorry for taking long in revising this one. I had to rewrite almost all the bar scenes, and homework kept getting in the way.

Anyway, hope this revision is better. Enjoy.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 2: Drinking with a Zombie Head

* * *

Dusk had already fallen upon Echo Creek. The warm orange sunset sky was being replaced by a starry night sky. The streets were mostly empty, save for the occasional pedestrian who were going home from a long day at work.

Only two occupants of the Diaz house were present, those being Marco and his new housemate Hekapoo. His parents were out doing some nighttime grocery shopping, giving the two the house all to themselves. Now the two were alone, with only each other for company.

Hekapoo, a recently divorced alcoholic, and Marco, a teenage boy whose hormones can get out of control sometimes, are alone.

Together.

Completely alone.

With no one to disturb them.

You know what that means...

Yup, Movie Night!

Hekapoo was first reluctant to participate in Movie Night. She wasn't really the kind of person who would watch movies in her free time - she usually occupied her time with forging scissors and (recently) drinking - so she first declined, thinking that she would not like it, or would fall asleep ten seconds in. But when Marco showed her the DVD case of an over-the-top action movie, she was intrigued.

So she thought, 'Why not?'

After all, if she's going to be stuck on Earth for a while, she might as well have some fun.

Right now, she was sitting on a wooden stool in the kitchen, wearing her usual flame design dress. Her head was propped up by her arm, and she was lazily tapping her fingers on the smooth kitchen counter, a bored look on her face. She was waiting for Marco to finish cooking... whatever he just said a few minutes ago. He said that it was "delicious" and that "she should definitely try it", so she waited patiently, wondering what this mysterious food item could be.

However, she wasn't patient enough to not take out a flask from her pocket and start drinking. She was too busy secretly drinking that she hadn't noticed Marco - who was wearing a cute little chef's hat and oven mitts - approaching the kitchen counter, a plate of food in his hands.

"They're all done." Marco announced, placing the plate on the counter. That's when she noticed and hurried on closing her flask and stuffing it back in her pocket, but she was too late.

"Here it is, Na-" Marco noticed her hastily stuffing something in her pocket, and saw the metal of the flask gleaming against the kitchen light, "Hey! I saw that!"

Hekapoo stopped and put on an innocent smile, one he didn't buy, "I wasn't drinking."

Marco extended an arm to her, palm open, "Alright, Hekapoo, give it up."

Hekapoo sighed and took out the flask from her pocket, and dropped it on Marco's hand. Marco confiscated it, placing it in his hoodie pocket.

Hekapoo just crossed her arms and grumbled. She was getting really annoyed by his developing ability to detect if she was secretly drinking or smuggling bottles into the house, yet amazed at how fast he developed it, considering she had been there for only four days now.

"You know the rules, Hekapoo," Marco started, taking off his oven mitts, "No drinking in the house. You're here for a reason, remember?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm here to take care of my drinking problem, I know." She said, waving a hand around. Her annoyed state quickly disappeared when an unusual scent flew right into her nose. She looked to the plate Marco just placed on the counter. It was full of rough, golden triangles covered in a thick yellow sauce with small bits of something brown on top of the triangles and sauce.

"What the heck are those?" She asked, pointing to the plate.

Marco chuckled, "I'm glad you asked that. Behold, Marco's Super Awesome Nachos!" He gestured to the plate of nachos as if it were a famous singer on stage.

Hekapoo eyed the plate of nachos curiously, "Nachos?"

"Yup! My dad has a secret cheese recipe that makes them dee-lish." He grabbed a nacho from the pile and popped it into his mouth.

The red-headed demon cautiously grabbed a chip and inspected it, turning it around in multiple ways, and even taking a whiff.

Marco noticed her behavior and raised an eyebrow, "You don't have nachos where you're from?"

"Nope," Hekapoo shrugged, "Though I have seen them once when I was chasing a scissor thief through a food place or something similar, but I never really had any Earth food."

Marco's eyebrows shot up, "You never had Earth food?" He grinned, "Oh, you're in for a treat. There are plenty of delicious cuisines here on Earth."

"Sounds fun." She said sarcastically. She continued to scrutinize the triangular chip before slowly taking it closer to her mouth. Her face showed her reluctance when she slowly opened her mouth and took the chip between her sharp teeth. She carefully took a small bite and started chewing. When the small piece of nacho chip hit her taste buds, she froze and her eyes widened. Marco raised an eyebrow, and kept looking at the frozen demon, wondering if she's alright.

"Um, Hekapoo?" He asked with worry in his voice. He reached out a hand to her, but he only managed make it a few inches before the demon quickly sucked in all the air she could, causing Marco to retract his hand quickly.

"HOLY MULTIVERSE, THESE NACHOS ARE AMAZING!"

She grabbed a handful of nachos and started stuffing them into her mouth, savoring their deliciousness. When she swallowed what was once nacho chips in her mouth, she grabbed another handful from the plate and replaced them swiftly.

Marco chuckled at the demon's amazement, rubbing the back of his neck and looking to the side, "I guess I'm gonna take that as a compliment."

A loud burp emitted shortly afterwards. He turned back to the image of an empty plate and Hekapoo with crumbs all over her mouth, hands, and dress.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows, "Uh... how the?"

The demon slid the empty plate over to him. "I need more nachos," She tapped the counter, "Nachos, ASAP."

Marco chuckled nervously, "Heheh. Well, it's a good thing I prepared an extra batch."

He was about to grab the empty plate when a knock from the back door brought the two housemates' attention. Marco arched his eyebrow, confused as to why anyone would knock on their back door. He walked up to the door and cautiously turned the doorknob open, fist clenched and drawn in case it were Hekapoo's exes.

Once the door was open, Marco was met with nothing but an empty backyard. He glanced around, squinting through the darkness. He looked to the left, and to the right, and right back-

"Who the heck are you?!"

"AHHH!" Marco screamed girlishly, and fell on his back. He groaned, then looked back up to what had scared him, his face instantly paling when he found out what - or who, rather - it was.

Standing there was a young man - looking no more than 25 - with long black hair, his bangs covering his left eye. He was in a withered black varsity jacket that covered his gray skin that somehow reeked of decaying flesh, a pair of ripped jeans that were, well, ripped, and a pair of black and white sneakers that were so dirty, you could mistake them for just plain black sneakers.

A chill ran down his spine at the sight, which was quickly replaced by a blizzard when he looked down to the severed head in his hands. From what Marco could see, the head seemed to have come from a girl. She had charcoal hair that reached down to whatever was left of her neck. Unlike the man holding her, her skin was dark green and rotting like a zombie. Her teeth were sharp, and were popping out from her red upper lip like Hekapoo's. And as opposed to the man's pitch black eye, her eyes were glowing a blood-red color, which were narrowed at the fallen boy.

Marco stared at the two figures with wide eyes, his lips trembling and his forehead glistening from sweat. Thankfully, Hekapoo arrived at the scene with a kitchen knife, looking ready to stab whoever she considered dangerous.

"What? Where? What happened?" She said, snapping her head left and right. When her gaze fell upon the two figures, she furrowed her eyebrows and lowered her knife. When the head caught sight of the demon, she lit up.

"Auntie H! It's so good to see you!" She said, her normal sounding voice surprising Marco.

"Necra? What the heck are you doing here?" Hekapoo said, non-threateningly pointing her knife at them.

Necra feigned sadness, "Aw, Auntie. What, no hugs for your niece?"

Hekapoo crossed her arms, giving Necra an unamused look, "You're a head, Necra. And stop calling me Auntie, it makes me sound old."

Necra smirked, "Oh sure, you're only, what, a couple hundred years old?"

The demon glared at the joking head. Marco had already gotten up from his unusually long time on the floor and started dusting himself off. He had a million questions running around in his mind, and the first he asked was, "Wait, you're an aunt?"

"Yup." Hekapoo said, "Remember that zombie-looking dude I fireballed back in the parking lot?"

"Oh. That guy."

"Yeaaah," The demon turned back to the head, "Anyway, what are you doing here? And who's that guy?" She pointed her knife at the black-eyed man.

"Oh! This is my boyfriend, Gray. Isn't he just the sweetest?" She cooed.

Marco glanced at Gray's face. The man's soulless eyes stared back at him creepily, his cold breath coming in short, ragged huffs from his mouth. A chill started running down his spine again, which only worsened when he noticed a tiny red dot right in the center of his eye.

"Anyway," Necra started, which unfroze Marco, "I'm here to announce that Gray and I just hit one year in our relationship! So we're going out to celebrate, and we want you to come with us."

Hekapoo wasn't slow to decline, "Sorry, can't go, got stuff to do here. But have fun celebrating your one year of being happy together," She looked to her side and crossed her arms, "At least you're doing better than me..."

"Aw, come on, Auntie H! It's no fun without you there!" Necra whined.

"Sorry, can't go." She repeated. If she weren't a recent divorcee and their celebration didn't involve love and relationships, she would've definitely joined her.

"Hmm..." Necra hummed, thinking of a way to convince her aunt. Then, an idea popped into her head.

"Well," She started, her voice loaded with fake sadness, "It looks like Gray and me would have to drink all the beer we were going to pay, all by ourselves. Such a shame, really."

Hekapoo's brows instantly shot up. Marco noticed the demon's expression, and immediately knew what she was thinking.

"Hekapoo..." He warned. He was then met with a hot, stinging smack to the back of his head. The boy winced, and clasped on the part of his head that fell victim to her trademark slap.

"Well, I certainly can't say no to free booze." She walked up to the couple.

Necra lit up, "Great! Come on, we'll use my dimensional scissors. Gray, would you be so kind as to rip a portal open to Cub's Tavern?"

Gray nodded and pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors from his jacket pocket. The handles were black as tar, with tiny horns jutting from the ends, and a small skull holding the blades together. The blades themselves were toothed and sharp at the end, with runes of a runic language on one of them. Gray stabbed the air and started snipping it, creating a portal.

Marco watched the whole scene unfold, his annoyance flaring, "Hekapoo, do you remember anything I said to you? No drinking!"

The demon smirked, "Well, you only said I'm not allowed to drink inside the house. You never said I can't drink outside."

Marco frowned, realizing the big loophole Hekapoo just found, "W-wait, that's not fair!"

The demon just shrugged, "Too late, dude. Now you're either staying or coming with us." She gestured to the other two behind her.

Marco's eyes snapped between the couple and the demon. Sweat started slithering down his temples as he tried to find a way to stop Hekapoo. But when his mind drew blank, he sighed.

"Fine, I'm coming. But I'm only there to watch over you guys, I am not drinking anything." He said.

"Yeah, yeah," Hekapoo waved a dismissive hand, "We'll try not to get absolutely wasted. Now come on!" She beckoned Marco and entered the portal right after Necra and Gray. Marco sighed once again and followed the demon, the portal closing as he got through.

But unknown to them, another portal opened right after theirs closed. Three tall, bulky figures stepped out, their features hidden by the darkness of the night. One figure knelt down and picked up a lock of black hair. He inspected it, feeling it between his fingers, sniffing it and even tasting it - regretfully spitting the taste out afterwards. The figure pocketed the lock of hair and stood up, and turned to the others behind him.

"She's been here. She's close."

* * *

Once Marco hopped out of the portal, he was met with Hekapoo and the couple right by a long line. He glanced around, and noticed that the tavern was located on top of a gray, rocky island floating through space, clusters of stars painting the otherwise black background.

Marco leaned to the side, looking past the line and to the tavern. The building was fairly large, and about two stories tall. It was going for a medieval look, made obvious by the soft wooden planks, wattle walls, and the cobblestone layer acting as the base for the structure. Laterns hung above small square windows, which showed all the people inside moving about. Lastly, a huge sign that read "Cub's Tavern" was perched on top of the wooden shingle roof, easily attracting any passing bar-hoppers.

"How long are we gonna be in this line for?" Hekapoo asked, drawing Marco's attention back to the group.

"Don't worry, auntie. I know a guy who can get us in. And look, there he is!" Necra exclaimed, nodding towards a man leaning on the side of the building.

The group made their way over him, with Marco eyeing the sketchy man cautiously along the way. The crunching of the rocks beneath their feet seemed to have caught his attention, as he turned his head to them.

Marco tried to get a good view of the man's face, but it was completely covered by the shadow of his brown, wide brim. His brown long coat covered his whole body, reaching down to just above his boots. There were no distinctive features on him whatsoever, making him more mysterious and therefore, more dangerous if he were to stir up some trouble.

"Long coat guy!" Necra called, calling his nickname like they were old, long time friends.

"Necra, I assume you're going drinking again?" The man said in a raspy voice.

"Yup! These guys are with me." She nodded to Hekapoo and Marco. The man seemed to eye the two curiously, though no one was too sure, his face being covered and all. His invisible, yet intense stare caused some unsettledness in the two, who both shifted their feet awkwardly and looked at anything other than him.

After about a minute of silence, the man said, "Alright, come on."

The man pushed himself off the wall, and walked to the back of the building. Necra and Gray casually followed him, with a cautious Hekapoo and Marco on their tail. They made it to the backside, which only contained a single green dumpster and a wooden door with the only lantern lighting the area hanging above it.

"When you go in, take the first left, then head through the door on your first right. The corridors should be clear, so don't worry about getting caught." The man explained.

"Thanks, long coat guy. Gray..." The young man nodded, and fished out a single gold coin from his jacket pocket, then tossed it to the man, who caught it flawlessly. He inspected the coin, flipping it around, and even biting it. When his teeth bit on hard gold, he nodded.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He said before walking away.

Marco leaned in to Hekapoo and whispered, "That guy is weird."

"I know." She responded.

"Well, now that that's done, let's get our drink on! Woo!" Necra whooped as she and Gray walked through the door. The other two followed shortly after, with Marco taking a cautious check around the outside area before finally closing the door.

After following the man's instructions, the group made it to another wooden door. When they got close to it, Marco could hear loud music blasting from the other side, with the occasional shout and whoop accompanying it.

"Welcome, everyone," Necra hyped, as Gray grabbed the knob and started pushing the door, "To Cub's Tavern!"

Gray swung the door open, and both housemates were met with loud music and different colored lights. Loads of people of all kinds were moving about, holding drinks and glowsticks, and whooping and yelling all around.

When the group officially entered the hectic tavern, the two housemates glanced around. Squinting through the bright colored lights, they could see that the interior maintained the tavern's medieval theme, with its spruce tables and stools, but the loud club music, spotlights, and hecticness contrasted heavily with the calmer, less modern feel of a typical medieval tavern.

Marco was covering his ears - not used to such blaring music - when he turned to Necra. "Isn't this is a little loud for a tavern!?" He shouted.

"Exactly! It's what makes it fun! Now come on!" She shouted back, and beckoned for the other two to follow her to the bar.

Once they snaked their way through the crowd, they sat down on stools by the counter. Drinks of numerous kinds were perched on shelves behind the counter, ranging from actual beverages from the medieval times, like rum and wine, to more modern ones, like vodka and good old beer.

"Bartender, three bottles of beer here!" Necra shouted as Gray sat her down on the counter. The bartender, a giant praying mantis wearing a white long sleeved short under a black vest with a matching black bow tie, nodded and disappeared behind the counter, coming up with their drinks a moment later. After paying, they opened their drinks, emitting pops and hisses, and brought them up in the air.

"To love!"

"To free beer!"

Clinks followed afterwards, and they all started downing their drinks - Necra having a little help from her boyfriend. Marco watched as they all belched, including Gray. He fidgeted awkwardly on his stool as music and whoops continued to flood his ears. He never went to any sort of club or bar before, being the Safe Kid and all, so being in one now made him feel very uncomfortable and out of place.

What was he supposed to do while he was in there? He certainly wasn't going to drink, and he definitely wasn't going to start conversing with complete strangers, especially ones that could beat him to a pulp. He contemplated on asking Necra for a portal back home, but then he remembered that Hekapoo was there, and she surely would've downed at least twenty bottles the second he leaves.

He sighed and decided to glance around the tavern, but then felt something poke his shoulder. Marco turned around, and saw Hekapoo eyeing him curiously.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked.

"Oh, um, yeah. Just, you know, a bit out of place here. Heh." He replied.

A smirk crept up Hekapoo's face, one which concerned Marco a little. "Well, there is a way to make you not out of place." She brought her bottle closer to him, a playful look on her face.

The boy instantly knew what she was trying to do, "No. I am not drinking."

"Aw, come on, Marco. Just a sip." She brought the bottle up to his lips.

He leaned his head away, "No."

"Come on."

"No, Hekapoo."

"Come ooon."

"I said no."

"Cooome ooooon."

"For the last time, no!"

Necra rolled her eyes, "Jeez, Marco. Don't be such a buzzkill. What are you, a safe kid?"

Marco instantly froze at her words. He looked over to the severed head, who had an eyebrow raised, her annoyance clearly flaring. Something inside him ticked, which caused his eyebrows to quickly snap together in anger.

"I'm not a safe kid!" He swiped the bottle from Hekapoo's hand, "I'm a certified grade A bad boy! Here, I'll prove it!"

He swiftly brought the bottle up to his mouth, and leaned his head back to let the first batch of alcohol flow into his mouth. He gulped it down, not caring about the cringe-inducing taste, and brought his head down back to the others.

"See! I did i-eeeeewhooooaaleeeecraah-" A loud thud followed afterwards as Marco fell off his stool, catching the attention of nearby drinkers.

The others stared silently at the downed Marco with confused and surprised looks, as a line of drool slithered its way down from the boy's mouth.

After a silent, awkward while, the severed head spoke, "...Is he dead?"

* * *

Meanwhile, right outside the tavern, a portal ripped open, and three bulky men stepped through it. They were big, easily towering over the people in line. Their dark green, decaying skin were covered by their black two-piece suits. They were all bald, their dead teeth jutted out of their lower jaws, and their eyes were emitting a yellow glow, similar to that of Necra's.

The men searched their surroundings, drawing confused looks to themselves. One man brought his scrutinizing gaze towards the side of the building, and caught sight of a man in a brown long coat and a wide brim hat.

He got the attention of the other men, and beckoned them to follow. They walked over to the mysterious man, keeping him in their visions. The man had yet to notice them, as he was busy with flipping a golden coin into the air.

"Sickle." When he heard his name, he caught the coin in his hands, and turned towards the three towering men, their arms crossed.

"Took you long enough." Sickle jokingly said, an almost inaudible chuckle following afterwards.

"Is she in there?" The man in front said, nodding towards the tavern.

"You know the rules." The mysterious man held out his expectant hand to the tall man. The man groaned, and reached into his pockets, pulling out a single gold coin after rummaging inside it for a bit. He dropped the coin on the mysterious man's hand, who started inspecting it, bringing it up to shine it against the light and biting it.

When Sickle couldn't break the coin, he pocketed it and turned back to the men, "Yup, she's in there. She's with her boyfriend, her aunt and some kid. They took the back door over there."

The men took no time in leaving him and walking down the side of the building. When the men disappeared behind the corner, the mysterious man grinned.

"Pleasure doing business with you."

* * *

"Wow, who knew that kid can be so... wild."

"I know."

Hekapoo and Necra conversed as they watched Marco wildly flail two glowsticks around on top of a table, his dancing completely off sync to the music. A piece of red cloth he found wrapped his forehead, and a bunch of rapidly changing glowing necklaces hung from his neck.

"Wooohooo!" He whooped, kicking his feet around, which caused some bottles and glasses to fly off the table. Nearby drinkers groaned and left the area, some running away to avoid getting hit by flying bottles.

Necra continued to laugh at Marco drunkenly goofing and dancing around alongside Hekapoo and (surprisingly) Gray. However, something emerging from the back door tore her attention away. She arched an eyebrow, and squinted her eyes, trying to make out the emerging figures through the people and lights.

There were three men, all tall and bulky, and seemed to be wearing suits. They stopped right outside the door, and searched their surroundings. Necra continued to watch the figures closely, a feeling of imminent danger rising up inside her.

The figures continued eyeing the tavern, until the one in front turned his head towards her direction, his yellow eyes beating the spotlights in brightness, causing a gasp from Necra.

"Gray, they found us." She frantically whispered as the men started walking towards them.

After noticing the approaching men, Gray lightly gasped and started looking around, trying to find a place to escape to. He turned to the left, and saw a sign that shouted out "Photo Booth" right above the mass of people in front of it.

An idea popped into his mind, and he nudged his girlfriend, directing her vision towards the sign. The same idea popped into her mind as well, evident by her lit up face.

"Hey, auntie, why don't we take a picture over there!" She called to Hekapoo. The demon turned to towards the sign, and turned back to give a thumbs up to Necra before bringing her eyes towards Marco.

"Hey, Marco! Wanna take a picture?" She called out.

"Sure, why * _hic_ * not? Hehehe..." He slurred out. He stumbled down the table and met up with the group who were already leaving.

The men noticed their departure, and hurried through the crowd. Necra and Gray hastily made their way through the mass of people, occasionally glancing past the other two behind them to check on their pursuers.

Their place of interest kept up with the medieval theme of the tavern. It's box structure was made of spruce wood, with light brown, woven cloth acting as the curtain. Multiple engravings covered the outside, mostly consisting of swirls and ancient runes.

Necra and Gray didn't waste any time in pulling the other two into the booth - of course, they had some trouble pulling the drunk Marco in. Once they were all sat down, Gray quickly grabbed a coin from his pocket, and fed it into the slot right by the photo dispenser in front of them.

After pressing a button, everyone posed for the picture, with Hekapoo having to wrap Marco's neck with her arm to stop him from squirming. Several flashes followed, everyone changing poses between them.

After the last flash, a photograph was dispensed. Hekapoo picked it up and showed it to the couple. They all did different kinds of poses for each snap; peace signs, funny faces, and even sitting upside down - Marco's poses are a bit more "drunken", with one photo even showing him on the verge of vomiting.

The group continued to look through and laugh at their photos. Marco, meanwhile, was sitting by the curtain, clutching his head as the world began to spin around him.

Suddenly, he felt something grab onto his arm, "Huh- whoa!"

The others snapped their gazes towards the spot Marco had been sitting, only to be met with an empty seat. Hekapoo quickly discarded the photo and got up on her feet. She shoved the curtain away and ran out, finding three men outside, one holding Marco in the air.

"Where is she?!" The man holding the boy demanded.

"Where is who?" He slurred.

"Necra! Where is she?! We know she's here!"

"Necra...? Oh! Right, she's in-" Before the man could get his answer, Marco promptly passed out, snoring loudly with drool slowly dripping from his mouth.

The man felt anger rise up in him, but it quickly diminished when a voice called out to him, catching the attention of nearby drinkers, "Guys! What the heck?!"

The men turned to the source, and saw Gray and Necra walking out of the booth, with the severed head glaring daggers at them, "Did you just kill him?!"

The man holding Marco furrowed his eyebrows, "What? No! We didn't, I swear! He just did... that! We didn't kill him, alright? He's- Gah! You're bringing me off topic! You two are coming with us!"

Hekapoo's eyebrow arched up, "Uh, Necra, what's he talk-"

"No!" Necra cut her off, her glare now sending swords at the man, "It's our anniversary today, and we are not gonna be spending it eating plain old cake! We want to have some fun in our lives for once!"

The man returned her glare. "Listen, Necra! There's a reason why your father didn't want you two going out, alright? What if you both get hurt? What if you two get stuck in a dimension somewhere? What if-" The man couldn't finish his sentence, as a flying bottle from seemingly out of nowhere suddenly crashed into his face, sending the man down to the ground alongside the boy.

Silence filled the air - even the music stopped - as everyone stared at the two unconscious bodies on the floor, some with confused looks while some had surprised and shocked ones. Hekapoo and Necra turned towards Gray, who just shrugged his shoulders. He was as confused as they are.

The soundless air stayed for a moment, befo-

"BAR FIGHT!"

What was once a tavern turned into a battlefield. Chairs flew through the air, bottles were emptied and smashed, punches were thrown, sensitive areas were kicked; it was chaotic.

Hekapoo, meanwhile, saw an opportunity, "Let's get out of here!"

The couple nodded, and followed the demon, who was already carrying Marco over her shoulder. Leaving the group of suited men, they moved their way around the hectic crowd, all the while dodging flying bottles and punches themselves.

A few more minutes of moving passed before they made it to a much wider, less crowded space. They would've continued to make their way through if it weren't for the big, muscly orc that had walked into the area, easily towering over them, murderous intent present in his eyes. Two dirty tusks jutted from his bottom jaw. His gray-bluish body was hairy, and was only being covered by a brown tattered cloth that went over his right shoulder and reached down to his knees.

In his hands were a big wooden club and a half-empty bottle. "RAAAH!" He roared, spraying saliva out of his unhygienic mouth.

Marco's head shot up. "Oh yeah, she's in there. She's-" A loud snore followed as Marco passed out again.

The group gasped as the orc charged forward, his club above his head. He quickly closed the distance, and slammed his club onto them, but the group managed to dodge roll out of the way. Hekapoo immediately got back on her feet and, with her free hand, snapped a fireball to life, throwing it at the orc.

The creature yelled in pain as the flaming ball hit him. He tried to swing at her, but the demon was too fast for the large orc. He was so distracted by Hekapoo, he didn't notice Gray grabbing a stool and smashing it against his hip.

The orc yelled once again as he tried to keep his footing. He turned around and swung at his attacker, this time hitting Gray and sending him flying along with Necra.

"Necra!" Hekapoo shouted. She turned back to the orc, glaring daggers into his hideous face. The demon dropped Marco on the ground and conjured two fireballs in her hands. She shot them at the orc, who managed to block them with his arm, but still winced at the scorching pain. More fireballs quickly replaced the previous two and were thrown, causing more grunts and yells from the orc.

Hekapoo kept at it for a while, conjuring and chucking fireballs, not once giving the orc a chance to fight back. She kept pushing the orc backwards, who kept blocking her shots with his burnt arm. But soon enough, the orc got a chance to fight back when she slipped on a puddle of beer.

"Oof!" She fell to the floor, and the orc immediately took the chance and brought his club up to squash her. When the demon looked up, her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights.

Fortunately, a certain severed head flew through the air behind him and latched onto his head with her sharp teeth. The orc yelled in pain and started flailing around, trying to get the head off his... head.

Necra meanwhile was biting hard onto the orc's scalp, her saliva flowing down onto his head. "Thake thath!" She lisped.

Hekapoo snapped out of her daze and got up. While the orc was distracted, the demon cloned herself, two images of herself by her sides. They all brought their hands up and conjured the biggest fireball they could. Their hands joined, and formed one giant fireball that was as big as the orc himself, scaring away nearby people.

"Necra! Get off!" The original Hekapoo shouted. After hearing her instruction and seeing the giant fireball, the severed head immediately detached herself from the orc's head, falling onto the ground with a thud and being picked up by Gray shortly after.

"Hey, orc!" All the Hekapoos called out. The creature turned to them, and his eyes went wide as the massive ball of flame came hurling towards him. Once the distance was gone, loud hisses and sparks were in the air everywhere, and the orc fell down to the ground with a loud crash, his entire front covered in burn marks.

When the orc ceased all movement, the Hekapoos high-fived and cheered each other, the clones pinching their flames after, quickly fading into nonexistence. Necra and Gray quickly ran up to the original Hekapoo, with the young man having a few bruises from his flight.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Necrs exlaimed. Hekapoo nodded and ran over to help Marco up, who was now conscious and rolling around on the floor in pain.

They made their way through the loud and chaotic crowd once again, trying to get to the exit, half of the group wincing and grunting in pain as they pushed through. Soon enough, they managed to make it to the door. Hekapoo didn't waste any time opening the door normally, instead slamming it open with her arm.

The group finally made it out of the tavern and into the blank gray landscape. They all sighed in relief, while Marco immediately threw up as soon as he got out.

"Wow, that was exhausting." Hekapoo panted, her hands on her knees.

"And very nauseating." Marco added, before turning away and throwing up again.

Necra glanced at the tavern, the windows showing the still ongoing brawl inside, and turned back to Hekapoo, "We probably should get out of here. Gray."

The young man went for the scissors in his pocket. But when he pulled it out, his hand was stopped by a bigger, more green one.

"Not so fast, young man." A voice said. Everyone, including Marco, turned to the source. There stood a tall, classy-looking man, with a portal and a bunch of men similar to the ones from tavern behind him. His skin was green and decaying, similar to Necra's, except more well-kept than hers. He wore a pink long sleeve shirt with a gold chain necklace around his neck. His beige pants were being held by a brown leather belt, and below that were a pair of brown dress shoes. His hair was black, which stood up and ended at a point, accompanied by a pair of red glowing eyes that glared at the couple.

"Dad!" Necra exclaimed, her eyes wide like dinner plates.

Her dad kept her glare on the two, "Necra Nomica Mancy, do you have any idea how much danger you could've put yourself in?"

Hekapoo watched the scene unfold, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion, "Uh, what the heck is going on?"

Her words fell on deaf ears however, as Necra and her dad continued their conversation, "Come on, dad! It's just one night! It's not like anything bad can happen in a single night."

Her dad placed his hands on his hips, "Yes, bad things can happen in a single night! What if you got drugged? Or what if they've found you there? Then what?"

"But Auntie H was there! She could've easily taken out his guys!"

Necra's dad furrowed his eyebrows, and glanced around the area before finally noticing the demon standing awkwardly a short distance away from them. He turned back to his daughter, his eyes more red than ever before, "You've brought your aunt drinking?! Especially when she's trying to stop?! Are you nuts?!"

That seemed to have defeated Necra, as she frowned and looked away on shame along with Gray, not saying a single word back. Her dad sighed exasperatedly, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, enough of this. You two are going back with us to the mansion. From here on out, you are to not leave without my permission, understand?"

"Yes, dad." She said sadly.

"And I'll be taking your dimensional scissors."

Necra snapped her head back up to her dad, shock present on her face. He didn't budge though, as he held his hand out expectantly. She sighed and told Gray to give him the scissors. The young man dropped it in her dad's hands, and started walking towards the portal, passing the other men.

Necra's dad shook his head while rubbing his forehead. Remembering his sister-in-law was there, he turned to the demon and greeted her, "Hello, Hekapoo."

"Can you tell me what the heck is going on?" She asked, her hands on her hips.

The father sighed once again, "I'll tell you when I have the time. For now, keep these." He tossed the scissors to Hekapoo, "They won't be using them any time soon."

"Wait, what?" The demon looked down and stared at the scissors in her hands with a confused look. She lifted her head back up to her brother-in-law, ready to ask some questions, but he was already gone, along with his men and the couple.

Meanwhile, Marco had now finished his vomiting session, and was now walking up to the demon's side. His face was green as peas as he clutched his stomach. "Hekapoo, I think I wanna go home now." He groaned before turning away and throwing up once more.

* * *

The Diaz living room was dark, the moon and stars already up high in the sky. A portal ripped open right in the middle, tearing through and lighting up the darkness. A second later, Hekapoo and a sick Marco came out, both walking over and slumping down on the couch, the portal closing afterwards and leaving the room dark once again.

Marco groaned in pain as he clutched on his stomach, "Uh, I never want to drink again."

"Yeah, sorry for pressuring you." Hekapoo replied, rubbing the back of her neck and looking away.

Marco continued to clutch on his stomach and groan, mumbling something about having to be absent for school tomorrow. It was like that for a minute, before he suddenly felt something tap on his shoulder. He turned to the side, and saw smiling Hekapoo waving the TV remote to his face.

"Movie Night?"

He glanced between the remote and the demon, before his gaze fell on the demon, and he smiled tiredly.

"Movie Night."


	3. Demon Arm

Revision #1 (7/19/18)

Just changed the fight scenes to be less brutal.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 3: Demon Arm

* * *

It was a sunny day in Echo Creek, with only a few patches of cloud filling the blue sky. The sun was on its highest, shining its rays onto the earth below.

It was a perfect day for some karate practice!

Out in the backyard of the Diaz house stood Marco. He was clad in a white karate gi with a green belt around his waist and a white headband around his head. He was in a zen state, taking deep breaths and his hands palm-to-palm up to his chest. In front of the boy was a plank of wood on top of two vertical cinder blocks, and beside him was a stack of wooden planks.

He stayed in his zen state for a few more seconds. With one more deep breath, he quickly raised his right arm above his head, and with a yell, brought it down swiftly to the plank of wood, chopping it in half and sending bits of it flying.

At the same time, the door to the backyard opened up to Hekapoo, wearing her usual dress. She walked up to the aftermath of Marco's karate chop, her eyebrow raised.

"What the heck are you doing?" She asked, looking around at the bits and pieces of broken wood on the grass.

Marco turned to the demon, "Huh? Oh, I'm just practicing for my upcoming Tang Soo Do tournament."

"And I'm guessing that's got to do with karate?" She said, watching the boy turn to the stack of wood beside him and picking up three planks, then settling them on top of the cinder blocks.

"Yup, and I am going to kick Jeremy Birnbaum's butt." His voice was dripping with venom at the mention of his rival. He had his fist clenched and had a face full of determination.

"Jeremy Birnbaum? Isn't he that kid that showed everyone that video of you lip-syncing to Space Unicorn?"

Marco's determination was swiftly replaced with embarrassment, "It's supposed to be ironic!" He threw his arms up in the air, his annoyance flaring.

Hekapoo chuckled, "Yeah, 'ironic'." She air quoted.

The boy regained his composure, and was back to full determination mode. "But it's okay, because I'm gonna keep on practicing and practicing. I'm gonna practice so much that I won't even break a sweat in the tournament." He confidently said. He picked up another two planks from the stack and placed them on top of the previous planks. "We'll see who's the loser now, Jeremy..." He muttered.

Seeing him add more planks, making it five, doubt immediately took over her face, "Uh, Marco, you sure you can handle that?"

Marco was getting in his zen state, "Sure I can. I've karate-chopped your exes' skulls many times before, what can five planks of wood do to me?"

It did make sense. Her exes' skulls were a lot thicker - both metaphorically and literally. What can a bunch of wood do? Still, the demon still doubted his strength, so she stood at the side in case Marco's confidence backfired on him.

Marco repeated his previous stance, palm-to-palm and eyes closed. He took a deep breath, and then another, and then another, and then some more. Hekapoo, meanwhile, was getting impatient, her arms crossed and her foot tapping on the grass. If she didn't know that chopping planks of wood took a few minutes of acting like a person with asthma, then she definitely knew now.

Eventually, Marco's eyes shot open, and he let out a battle cry, "Hiyah!" His hand quickly transferred from his left palm to above his head. In one swift motion, the side of his hand ripped through the air between it and the planks, and slammed down onto the wood.

If his confidence didn't backfire on him, Hekapoo would've been exposed to hundreds of flying pieces of broken wood and the image of Marco's hand between the cinder blocks.

But she wasn't.

No broken pieces of wood soared through the air to add to the already messy grass. What she got instead was the horrible, cringe-inducing sound of snapping bones coming from Marco's hand. The planks were still intact, with Marco's hand pressed down on them.

Marco's face still held his confidence, but Hekapoo could see his lips tremble and eyes glimmer. He was frozen solid; not moving an inch, which worried Hekapoo a bit.

"Uh... Marco?" She asked with worry. She slowly approached him, but she only took one step before the backyard - possibly even the whole block - was filled with a very loud, ear-piercing scream.

"AHHHHH!"

* * *

Marco was not happy.

It had been a day since he was rushed to the ER. When the doctor said that he had broken 90% of the bones in his arm and that he has to wear a cast for two or three weeks, he practically fainted on the hospital bed. Not only will any activity involving two arms be harder for him for the next two weeks, he'll be a no show on the tournament and Jeremy would think he pussied out, which would mean the kid would tell everyone how much of a pussy he is.

He groaned in frustration and fell back on his bed. Since his parents were... parents, they decided to confine him in his room for the time being, smothering him with unnecessary embraces and his dad's "get well soup" - which is just chicken soup, but with a buttload more of chicken. His arm was in a cast full of get well messages from his classmates and friends. Hekapoo even had her own message on there, but it was in some sort of runic language

The boy threw his good arm up, "This is it! I'm done! Finished! The tournament's is in three days, and if I don't show up, Jeremy and everyone in the dojo would think I'm a wuss and would laugh at me all year!"

Hekapoo, who had been sitting on a chair beside his bed, poked at his cast, a beer bottle on one hand. "Hm, well, tough luck." She said before bringing the bottle up to her mouth and taking a chug.

The boy's scowl deepened, "For the one-thousandth time, you're not allowed to drink, Hekapoo."

"You let me drink that one time with my niece."

Marco growled, now glaring intensely at her. Hekapoo took notice, and sighed. "Alright, alright, I'll stop." She said, placing the bottle down on the floor.

The boy sighed, and covered his face with his good hand, "My life is basically ruined at this point."

The demon stared at her sad housemate with a frown. For the past few weeks she had been living with him, she had never seen him this down before. Just seeing him like this saddened her.

She cupped her chin in her hand, thinking of some way to help him. He had done so much for her for the past weeks, battling her ex-husbands and helping her fit in with humans, the least she could do was return the favor. Soon enough, an idea popped up into her head, and the flame on her head grew a bit bigger at the discovery of a potential solution.

She looked down at Marco, who still had his hand covering his face. "You know, I think I know someone who can help with your arm problem." She announced, poking his cast.

He lifted his hand off his face and turned to the demon with an arched eyebrow, eager to know more, "Really?"

"Mhm, I used to be drinking buddies with this guy way back then. He replaces arms and stuff, though I don't know if he still in the business," She shrugged, "But it couldn't hurt to try."

Marco's face lit up at the revelation. Maybe his life won't be ruined after all. He shot up from his bed, the pain in his bad arm being counteracted by his joy.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's go!" He said before getting off the bed.

Hekapoo smiled, the boy's new found cheerfulness seemingly spreading to hee. She stood up and pulled out their newly acquired dimensional scissors from her pocket, stabbing the air and ripping open a portal afterwards.

"Ladies first."

* * *

Marco stepped through the portal into a barely lit corridor. The walls were made out of an obsidian-like material. They were jagged and non-uniform like cavern walls, but they still obeyed the rules of a simple square corridor. Along the right wall were a bunch of torches lined up, though they barely lit the dark corridor up. When Hekapoo got through and closed the portal, he looked back and saw two doors made out of the same materials as the walls.

But the most interesting and equally disturbing thing about it was the design. Every single design choice was an arm or a representation of an arm. The handles were hands that were meant to look like they were offering handshakes, and the engravings and symbols on the doors were all hand signs.

The boy was confused and disturbed by the doors. He turned around and turned his attention to the corridor again. When he squinted his eyes to get a better look at the walls, he could now tell the numerous hand signs engraved along the obsidian-like walls. He turned his gaze over to the torches, and he could see that even the torches were designed to look like arms; arms protruded out of the wall and held a hand, which then held the flame of the torch itself.

"Where the heck are we?" He asked as a

chill started running down his spine.

"The guy's place. Where else would we be?" Hekapoo replied nonchalantly. Without notice, she started walking the corridor, leaving Marco to catch up to her.

Once he caught up to her, he couldn't help but ask, "So, who is this guy we're meeting?"

"His name's Rhadius the Arms Dealer."

Marco raised an eyebrow, "Arms dealer? Isn't that someone who sells guns?"

The demon shook her head, "No, that's your guys' version of an arms dealer. Our version is someone who sells arms. Literal arms."

Marco's eyes widened, "Oh."

"Mhm, different kinds too. He's got mewman arms, monster arms, demon arms, zombie arms, anything really." She shrugged.

The boy's eyes narrowed as he pondered on something, "Wait, wouldn't it be illegal to sell arms? Or is just Earth?"

She shrugged again, "It depends on how you get them. If you get them through non-harmful means, like magic, then you're good. If you get them by literally ripping them off of someone, then that's a no-no." She nodded to the direction they were walking down, "We're here."

The corridor led into a wider and brighter room. When the two walked in, Marco had his mouth agape and his eyes wide. The walls of the room had shelves dotted around, all having a type of arm on display. On the ground were multiple barrels containing common arms, some saying they were on sale. Right in the middle of the room laid a display case containing several high valued arms, ranging from Multi-Armed Bear arms to arms from demons of the lower layers of the Underworld. Right by the wall opposite of the corridor was a wooden counter that stretched from wall to wall. On top of it had a black metallic cash register and multiple arms on sale, along with a wet metal tray. The wall behind the counter had a line of shelves containing a bunch of jars, each containing an arm submerged in a dark green, bubbling liquid.

Saying Marco was disturbed would be an understatement.

His gaze shot to the counter when he heard the ring of a bell. Hekapoo waited by the counter, tapping her fingers against the wood. As soon as Marco approached Hekapoo, a lanky man emerged behind the counter. His fair skin was tainted by the numerous spots of soot and dirt on it. He had really white and messy hair, resembling that of a mad scientist. He had an incredibly long nose and a chin that reached just below the length of his nose. Marco couldn't see the disproportionate man's eyes as they were covered by thick circular glasses. However, he could see that the man wore a white mad-scientist-esque lab coat and black rubber gloves with a substance on them that Marco probably didn't want to know.

"Velcome to Rhadius' Arm Emporium!" The man said in a German accent. He noticed Hekapoo and his face instantly lit up, "Hekapoo! How are you! It has been ein long time!"

The demon chuckled, "Nice to see you too, Rhad. How's the arm business going for ya?

"Vell, I'fe finally zold zat decapus arm zat has been zitting here for ein long time." He shrugged, "Zo buziness has been good.

Anyvay, vat can I do for you?"

Hekapoo pointed her thumb at the boy beside her, "My friend here needs an arm, and fast."

Rhadius eyes widened at the sight of the boy. He swiftly got up on his knees on the counter and got his face right up on Marco's, scrutinizing every single detail. The boy was very confused and little bit scared by the dealer's actions. His face was so close that the boy could feel the man's slightly stinky breath on his face.

"Vow, ein real human! I haffen't zeen one in forever!" Rhadius stated, a big, goofy grin on his face, "Tell me, vat is it like on Earth?"

"Um..." Marco started sweating profusely. He looked away, his mind drawing blank on what to say for a moment before, "Uh... we live in houses."

Rhadius nodded enthusiastically, "Uhuh."

"And... we eat."

He nodded again.

"...That's it, I guess."

Rhadius stared into space, amazed by the informatiom given, "Vow... zo fascinating."

"Um," Marco rubbed the back of his neck, "Thanks, I guess?"

The dealer jumped off the counter, and dusted himself before clearing his throat, "Vell zen, as for your arm problem," He pointed to Marco's cast, "I'm afraid I don't haffe any more human arms. Zey are just too hard to come by novadays."

A frown took over Marco's face, "Aw, what?"

The dealer lifted a reassuring finger up, "But don't vorry, because I haffe zis!" He bent down behind the counter, and emerged a second later with a human-esque arm in his hands, placing it on the metal tray on the counter. It was the same skin tone and length as Marco's. It had a few faded scars and cuts on it, the most noticable one being the huge scar that ran across the palm.

"Ths is ein mewman arm zat has alzo been zitting here for ein fery long time. Mewmans und humans haffe fery zimilar anatomical schtructure, zo zis schould be able to fit you."

Marco eyed the arm, his face contorting in digust a little, before turning back to the dealer, "You sure you don't have any human arms?"

"Pretty sure!"

Marco's lips pursed as he turned back to the arm. He wasn't usually picky when it comes to buying things, but now is an exception, since the arm looked like it got run over by a truck, then thrown into the center of a battlefield.

Seeing no other option, he sighed, "I guess I'll go with this."

"Great! Und zince you are zee first human I haffe met in ein long time, I vill giffe you ein discount! Vich vould bring it down to..." He pulled out a calculator from his back pocket and punched in a few numbers, "650 gold coins!"

Marco's eyebrows shot up, "650 gold coins? That's quite a lot, even with a discount."

"It vas originally 7150 gold coins."

"Oh."

Hekapoo couldn't help but snort at her housemate's reaction. She fished out a bag full of gold coins from her pocket and tossed it onto the counter. Rhadius gladly took it and opened it up, counting the coins inside, a smile appearing on his face a moment later. He opened the cash register and poured all the coins - bag included - into it.

"Vell, zat does it for zee buziness part, now comes zee zeving part!" He quickly disappeared behind the counter, and emerged with a huge and terrifying contraption in his hands. It was combination of a bear trap, arms with needles and threads, and a flamethrower, all moving crazily and being held by steam powered arms.

Marco stepped back and quickly assumed a fighting stance, "Whoa, whoa! Sewing part?!"

"Wow, Marco," Hekapoo started, "Don't tell me you thought replacing your arm would not involve cutting your arm off and sewing the new one on."

"N-no, I knew that, I just didn't think he'd be using that!" He pointed a finger to the contraption.

"Don't vorry, zis zing hasn't fiolated any health codes in years!" Rhadius said as he patted the machine.

"I-isn't there some other way to do this? L-like with magic... or something?"

"Nope!" The dealer pulled on a string coming out of the contraption, making all the different parts move even faster and crazier than before.

Marco gulped, a single drop of sweat running down his temple.

* * *

Darkness was all the unconscious Marco could see. When started to finally come to, his groggy mind instantly went to what he relunctantly agreed to. He slowly opened his eyes, letting a line of light seep through his eyelids which grew wider the more he opened his eyes. Once his eyes were wide opened, his vision was replaced by a bright white light. It was so bright that he had to close his eyes again as to not blind himself. When he opened them again, the whiteness started fading.

He was lying down on something, looking straight up at a lamp above him. The thing he was laying down on was cold and metallic, and a little bit wet. Feeling the coldness spread through his back, he looked down on his torso and confirmed that he was bare-chested. Seconds later, the coldness started spreading throughout his body. He could feel it through the fabric of his pants, on the back of his head, and even his right arm.

Right arm. As soon as he remembered what he was there for, he turned his head to the right. There it was, his new arm, sewed on tightly to his shoulder by black threads. The skin tone wasn't exactly the same as his, as it was a bit darker, and he could clearly see the multiple cuts and scars on his new limb, some treated while some faded.

Now comes the time to know if it actually works. He tried to lift his arm up, and like a butter knife through butter, it obeyed to his command. He stretched it out and contracted it a few times, and even moving it in a circular motion. It worked perfectly.

"So, how's your new arm?" A voice said beside him. He turned to his left and saw Hekapoo standing by the metallic bed he was on, arms crossed and an expectant look on her face.

"Well, it works. It feels just like my old arm." He replied as he wiggled his fingers.

"Good, 'cause I do not want to pay again if it doesn't." She said.

Marco continued on moving his new arm around as Rhadius approached the table beside Hekapoo. "Zo! Does it vork?"

When he noticed his presence, the boy sat up from the cold metallic bed and turned to face them, his feet dangling off the bed. "Yup. Works like a charm." He said.

"Great! I zought I lost mein skills back zere. I haffen't seved arms in ein long time." The dealer said.

Marco looked at Rhadius with furrowed eyebrows, "Wait, this," He pointed to his new arm, "Is the first arm you sewed in a long time?"

"Yes. Ein year, to be specific."

"...Huh." Marco inspected his arm, turning it here and there. When he looked at the scar on his palm, his gaze was seemingly glued to instantly, and he just stared blankly at it. He thought he could hear a faint voice coming from his palm. It sounded like it was whispering to him in a language he couldn't understand, entrancing him in a spell he couldn't resist.

"Well, we better get going," Hekapoo's voice snapped him out of it, "Marco here has some karate practice to get to."

"Uh, yeah yeah, I do. Yup." Marco awkwardly said, causing the demon to raise an eyebrow. She just shrugged and pulled out their pair of dimensional scissors, and ripped a portal open. Marco robotically jumped off the metal bed and walked alongside Hekapoo through the portal.

"See ya, Rhadius." Hekapoo said, waving goodbye to him as the two went through portal.

"Goodbye, Hekapoo! Remember, you are alvays velcome to Rhadius' Arm Emporium!" The dealer replied, returning Hekapoo's wave.

* * *

Marco and Hekapoo were walking down the Echo Creek Academy cafeteria, with Marco having a tray full of food in his hands.

"Why do I have to go to school with you again?" Hekapoo asked as she looked around the cafeteria. Students were in their seats, munching away on their lunch or talking about the latest gossip in school.

"My parents go to work when I'm in school. If I just left you there at home alone, I'd most likely find you surrounded by empty beer bottles." He answered.

"Fair point."

The two continued walking down the cafeteria until Marco saw a bunch of students in a circle off to the side. Marco raised an eyebrow and approached the mass of students with Hekapoo behind him. They excused themselves through the crowd, and now stood before the sight that caught the students' attention.

A big, muscly student stood tall against a short and chubby student. The muscly one wore a gray shirt and dark violet slacks, and had short, stubble-like hair. The short one wore a yellowish-green shirt accompanied by a green vest and brown pants. He wore big circular glasses and had slick back hair. In his hands was a tray full of food.

"Hey kid, I've got a joke for you." The muscly one harrased the short one, "What's the most important meal of the day?"

The short one, who was shaking and sweating profusely, replied, "Huh?"

The muscly one slapped the tray out of his hands, making it fall to the floor with a splat. "It's breakfast!" The muscly one yelled, laughing out loud at his terrible joke.

The short one laughed nervously, "H-heh, th-that's a good one, Lars."

He leaned down to pick up his tray, but was slapped in the face by a hand full of whip cream from Lars, making the kid fall down on his butt. Lars just laughed out loud at the sight. It was short lived, however, as he felt something plastic, wet, and mushy hit him in the back of the head, causing a grunt from him. The students around gasped at the sight. He groaned and clutched the back of his head, before turning around and searching for the perpetrator.

"Who did that?!" He yelled, looking through the mass of students. His gaze fell upon a boy in a red hoodie, who had his fist clenched and a mad look on his face. Along with his look were a pair of purple glowing eye, clearly showing that a peaceful conversation would not take place.

Lars gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, glaring daggers at the boy. He brought his fist up, ready to send the kid to poundtown.

"Why you little-" He was immediately punched hard in the face by Marco's new arm. His punch was so strong that Lars actually stumbled back, making the students around gasp once more. Marco stepped forward and punched Lars straight in the gut, and then slapped him in the face with the back of his hand. Lars clutched on his stomach and face, and ran away from the scene sobbing.

Marco went over to pick up the short kid from the floor. He pulled out a hanky from his pocket and cleaned the whip cream off of his face. Once his face was clear of cream, the short kid kneeled down and bowed down to Marco.

"I, sir, am forever in your debt." The kid said. He was immediately shoved away by an overweight, orange-haired boy who wore a dark gray shirt and a pair of sweat pants.

"That was amazing, Marco!" He exclaimed. The students around cheered for the boy in the red hoodie, chanting his name and throwing their fists up in the air, causing a smile from the boy.

"Wow, Marco," A voice said from behind him. He turned around and immediately froze when a girl with platinum blonde hair with a cyan streak on the left side approached him. She wore a green and white raglan shirt, cyan jean shorts, and an orange seashell necklace that rested on her chest. "That new arm of yours is great."

"H-hey, Jackie." Marco stuttered, his face red as a tomato.

"I want it to be my boyfriend!" A girl shouted from the crowd around him.

"Me too!" Another one shouted. The crowd cheered for him once again. Two students ran over to him and picked him up, resting him on their shoulders all while chanting his name. The crowd and the boy walked down to the cafeteria doors and out into the hallway, their cheers echoing through it.

Hekapoo watched as the crowd left along with Marco. Her eyes narrowed as the image of Marco's glowing purple eyes implanted itself into her mind. She could've sworn she'd seen those eyes somewhere before. Another thing only she noticed was the faint purple glow that eminated from his fist. Something about that just screamed to her that his new arm is nothing but great.

She walked down to the cafeteria doors to follow the crowd, her suspicion rising with every step.

* * *

"627... 628... 629..." Marco grunted each number. He was doing one handed push-ups in his room, his left arm on his back and his new arm doing all the pushing. He was clad in a gray shirt that had multiple patches of sweat, and a dark gray pair of skinny jeans. It was the day of his tournament, which would take place in his sensei's dojo in two hours. Over the past few days, he had been having fun with his new arm. He was now able to punch and chop through multiple planks of wood at once now, and bullying had gone down in his school thanks to his new arm.

"630... 631... 63-" His push-ups were suddenly interrupted when he heard his door creak open behind him. He shoved himself off the ground up to his feet. He turned around to see Hekapoo leaning on his door with crossed arms, slightly narrowed eyes locked on to his new arm.

"Hey, Hekapoo," He greeted out-of-breath, "Man, this new arm is amazing. I think this can help me defeat Jeremy. Hi-yah!" He started karate-chopping and punching the air.

"Marco, I think that arm is evil." She said blatantly.

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Evil? What? No, it's not. This thing is amazing!"

The demon shook her head, "No, dude, that thing is definitely evil. Just yesterday, I saw you punch that old lady's cat out of a tree. The thing probably has a broken spine now. You should get rid of that thing."

A glare started taking over his eyes, which were starting to glow purple along with his palm; "Do you really expect me to get rid of this?" He gestured to his arm, "Everytime I ask you to stop drinking, you still drink anyway. So do you really expect me to get rid of this non-harmful, actually beneficial arm just because you ask me to?"

"Marco, look at yourself," Hekapoo said, her face hardening with seriousness, "Look at what you're doing right now. Don't tell me that that's not your arm doing that to-"

"You know what? No!" He cut her off and pointed a finger at her, "I'm not gonna let you take this away from me. Now you could either deal with it or get sucker-punched in the face by it." He growled, his voice started to get lower, if a bit demonic.

Hekapoo stood her ground, glaring at his glowing eyes with her narrowed ones. The two had a glare-off for the next minute until Hekapoo backed away.

"Fine then," She said, anger present in her voice, "Have fun with your new arm." She turned on her heels and opened the door, and stomped out of his room with a dark expression on her face, before finally slamming the door closed with a loud crash.

Marco continued glared at the closed door. "What the heck does she know?" He muttered.

Suddenly, the palm of his hand started glowing a bright purple. Marco furrowed his eyebrows, and brought his arm up to inspect it. The scar on his palm seemed to be the source of the glow. The glow grew brighter as the scar started to open up, making Marco's eyes widen. After a few seconds, the scar finally opened up to a purple eye inside his palm.

"Don't listen to her." The eye said in a demonic voice.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows, "Wait, you can talk?"

"Yes, I can. Listen, you don't need that demon anymore. You can have everything you have ever dreamed of, as long as you lend me your body."

Curiousity and temptation was plastered all over his face, "Really? All you need is my body?"

"Yes, and once you let me possess your body, we're going to first destroy that little punk Jeremy.

Marco grinned evilly, "Yeah..."

"Then, we're going to get Jackie Lynn Thomas to go out with you."

His grin widened, "Yeah!"

"And then we're going to enslave all humans and take over Earth!"

"YEAH!-" He furrowed his eyebrows when the last part got to his brain, "Whoa whoa, wait, what?"

"Uh..." The eye looked to the side nervously, "I mean, we're going to win the tournament!"

"YEAH!" He raised his arms in the air triumphantly.

* * *

"Excuse me."

"Hey, watch it!"

"Move, please."

"Ow, hey!"

Hekapoo stomped through the bleachers' top row, stomping on random people's feet in the process. She was in Marco's sensei's dojo, where the tournament took place. In the middle of the room laid a huge mat where the fight would be, with bleachers full of people who wanted to watch the tournament taking up the side of the room.

The demon angrily made her way to the seat beside the same orange-haired kid the other day. She sat down with a huff and crossed her arms, her face full of anger and the flame on her head now a deep red color.

"Whoa, Hekapoo, you look... angry." The orange-haired kid said.

"Yeah, something happened?" A curly brown-haired boy who sat beside her asked. He wore large, black-rimmed, circular glasses, a blue and white striped shirt, and brown shorts.

"None of your business." She snarled, her flame reddening more. She was still angry at Marco for snapping at her. Sure, he had a fair point, but he didn't have to snap at her to prove it. But being the good friend that she is, she (reluctantly) decided to go to his tournament just in case his arm was indeed evil.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" A brown-haired and bearded man called. He wore a sleeveless black karate uniform that had a red dragon figure on its chest area, a red belt around his waist, and a red headband. "My name is Sensei Brantly, here today to host today's tournament. Let me introduce our first competitor, Jeremy Birnbaum!" He pointed his hand to one side of the dojo.

A cloaked figure stood tall, sipping water served to him by a man clad in a butler's outfit while being massaged on the shoulders by another similar looking butler. He stopped sipping, and shoved the butlers away. The cloak was thrown away to reveal a light-brown-haired little kid standing on a foot stool. He wore a white gi with a black belt around his waist, a white headband, and red gloves.

"Hi-yah! Yah!" Jeremy started punching and kicking the air, showing off his karate skills. "Haha!"

"We love you, son!" A woman in an expensive-looking dress cheered alongside a man in a similarly expensive-looking suit.

"Shut it, mom!"

"And his opponent, Marco Diaz!" The sensei pointed his other hand to the other side of the dojo. A dark figure stood amongst the shadows, the only visible parts were two purple glowing eyes and a glowing arm. The figure stepped forward out of the shadows, and revealed himself to be Marco. The audience gasped at the sight. His eyes were filled by an intense purple glow, and his new arm was being corrupted by a purple, vein-like material. He grinned at the audience's gasps, showing off his now sharp teeth.

Hekapoo's anger was now long gone, now replaced by intense worry, "Uh oh."

"Jeremy..." Marco sung through gritted teeth, his voice now demonic.

The little kid backed up, "Whoa, what the?"

"Whoa, that looks so cool." Sensei said.

Marco suddenly leapt up into the air, surprising a wide-eyed Jeremy. He tried to run away, but was too late, as Marco dived into Jeremy and pinned him to the floor by his neck. The little kid choked and wheezed for air, scratching on his opponent's purple arm. Marco picked up the little kid by his neck, and tossed him to the other side of the room. He hit the wall hard, cracking it, and groaned from the pain. He tried to get up, but Marco already beat him to it. The demonic boy grabbed Jeremy by the collar of his gi and pulled him up. He tossed him into the air and punched him in the face like a tennis ball. Jeremy soared through the air, and slid across the floor, then slammed into a wall. He was now covered in bruises, his breath ragged.

Everyone gasped as the little boy's head fell to the floor with a thud, his body now unconscious. Marco started laughing maniacally at his opponent's defeat, his laugh getting louder every second.

"Marco!" A voice interrupted his laughing. He turned to the audience and saw Hekapoo just a few meters in front of him with a fireball in her hand.

Marco grinned, "Ah, Hekapoo. Long time no see."

The demon furrowed her eyebrows, "Who the heck are you? What did you do to Marco?"

The demonic boy feigned sadness, "Aw, Hekapoo, don't you recognize me? The one demon with the purple eyes? The one demon who you supposedly burned into ashes? The one demon who you ripped his arm off?"

Hekapoo kept her eyebrows furrowed, until she heard the mention of her ripping his arm off. Her furrowed eyebrows now shot up, "Purpura?!"

Marco grinned, "Yes! It is I, Purpura the Purple Demon! Conquerer of the 18th layer of the Underworld, and now soon to be ruler of Earth!" He laughed maniacally.

Hekapoo gritted her teeth as fire started forming in her eyes. "You are not ruling anything!" She yelled. She fired the ball of fire at Marco, but he dodged it easily. The audience started screaming and running out of the crossfire, some getting out of the dojo and some hiding behind some objects. Hekapoo continued to blast fireballs at the demonic boy, all of which were dodged effortlessly.

After one more dodge, Marco leapt up into the air and pounced on Hekapoo. They rolled around the floor and ended with Marco on top of her. He raised his fist up and was about to strike, but Hekapoo punched him hard in the gut. He flew back from the punch, and crashed down onto the floor. He quickly got up, anger flaming off of his eyes. He gritted his teeth, and dashed towards Hekapoo. The demon conjured fireballs in both hands and started throwing them at the charging possessed boy. He dodged to the left, then to the right, and before she knew it, he punched her square in the face, making her crash into the wall and fall to the floor.

She groaned, a stinging pain spreading throughout her body. When she saw him charging at her again, she gritted her teeth, the flames in her eyes intensifying. Four clones of her quickly appeared at her sides, two at each. They all conjured fireballs in their hands and threw them at him. With the extra fireballs, it was bit harder for him to dodge. He dodged to the left, ducked, and jumped over one, but was hit in the face by a lucky shot. He flew backwards and slid along the floor. He tried to get up but was quickly subdued by the clones.

"I should've burned you all the way." The original Hekapoo said, who was standing at his feet, a fireball in her hand.

Marco smirked, "Yes, you should've." He quickly took a deep breath and blew at the Hekapoo clones. The air somehow managed to put out all of the flames on the clones' heads, making them quickly fade away.

The original Hekapoo's eyes widened. She tried to chuck another fireball at him, but she was too slow to stop Marco from pouncing on her and pinning her to the floor by her neck. He punched her in the face, and again, and again, the stinging pain was worsening with each hit. She tried to conjure another fireball, but her weak state prevented her from doing so.

When he punched her once again, her head turned to the side, and she saw a piece of concrete from a broken wall in arm's reach. Determination filled her eyes as shr stretched her arm as far as she could, all while being punched repeatedly. Her fingertips touched the piece of concrete, and she flicked them to get the piece nearer to her. She was starting to pass out from the pain, as evident by the black blobs in her vision. Just a couple more punches and she's out. Fortunately, one more flick was needed to get the piece of concrete in grabbing range. She flicked the concrete one last time and grabbed it. With all the strength she could muster, she swung her the concrete in her hand to the side of Marco's head.

"Ah!" Marco fell to the side, a huge bruise now on his head. Hekapoo quickly got up and stomped on Marco's chest to keep him there, causing a grunt from him. She bent down and grabbed Marco's evil arm, and started pulling it out.

"What? No!" Marco yelled. He tried to get out of the demon's restraint, but found that he couldn't.

"You know what I think, Purpura?!" She yelled through gritted teeth. The threads on Marco's arm started snapping, "I think Purpura's a stupid name! Rah!" With one last forceful tug, she ripped off Marco's arm, pieces of the black threads flying everywhere. The purple glow in his eyes started to dissipate, until his eyes were back to his normal brown ones.

Hekapoo panted and watched as Marco returned back to his normal self. The boy blinked and looked up at Hekapoo, who tiredly held the demonic arm in one hand.

"Hekapoo?" He said with a raspy voice.

"Hey, dude." She replied, coughing afterwards.

Marco's eyes rolled back and his head hit the floor with a thud, passing out from the pain. Hekapoo's eyes widened, but she was quickly distracted by the ringing of her pocket mirror. She raised her eyebrow as she dug her hand into her pocket. She pulled out her pocket mirror and flipped it open, which showed the mirror reading, "Incoming Call: Rhadius."

"Accept." She said. The mirror now showed the crazy-haired arm's dealer, who had several patches of black soot on his face.

"Ah, Hekapoo! Zo I dug around mein schop ein bit, und I found ein human arm!" He exclaimed, pulling up said arm. It was exactly the same skin tone as Marco's, and had no scars or cuts from what Hekapoo could see. "I found it in ein jar behind zome schelffes. I zought it vas chust another mesman arm, but turns out it vas ein human one! Ha!"

Hekapoo stared at the mirror, her face completely void of emotion, save for the slight twitching of her eye. The dealer raised an eyebrow, "Uh, Hekapoo? Zomething vrong?"

* * *

Marco groaned as he opened his eyes. His vision was met with the familiar ceiling from Rhadius' emporium, along with the familiar feeling of coldness of the metal bed. He sat up and tried to rub the piercing headache he was having away, but felt something on his right arm. He looked down and saw a red tube inserted into his arm. He also noticed how his right arm didn't have any cuts and the scar on his palm anymore.

"How're you feeling?" A voice said beside him. He turned to the side to see Hekapoo and Rhadius standing beside the bed, the demon having a hint of concern on her scarred face.

"What happened?" He asked in a raspy voice.

"Well, you got possessed and corrupted by a demon arm, beat Jeremy up, went crazy, punched me in the face multiple times, and passed out." She counted off on her fingers.

"Oh." He said. His gaze turned to Rhadius this time, who was holding a slab of meat over his eye, "What happened to you?"

"Compensation." The dealer said.

He snorted, fully knowimg what that meant. A frown slowly made its way to his face, and he turned back to Hekapoo. "I'm sorry I snapped at you earlier. It's my fault, I should've listened to you." He hung his head low in shame.

Hekapoo rolled her eyes, "Come on, dude. Don't go all sad on me now. The whole reason why I got you a new, albeit demonic arm is because I wanted to cheer you up."

He brought his head back up, "Really?"

"Yup."

He smiled, "Thanks, Hekapoo."

She returned his smile, "Anytime, dude."

Rhadius raised a finger, "I too am zorry for giffing you zat arm. I didn't know it vas demonic."

Marco's smile slowly fell when the dealer's words made him realize something, "Wait, there's not a chance that any of the corruption spreaded to the rest of my body, right?"

Hekapoo and Rhadius looked at each other, both of having nervous faces.

"I don't know."

"I don't know."

Marco's frown returned as he transfered his gaze back to his new arm, fear flooding his eyes.

He could've sworn he heard a faint whisper.


	4. Transmogri-what now?

Revision #1 (7/21/18)

(Re-read slightly recommended)

Just changed the fight scenes a bit. Also, the first part foreshadows some plot stuff later on.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 4: Transmogri-what now?

* * *

"I like red, and I like hoodies. That's why I have a dozen of them." Marco explained. He and Hekapoo were walking down one of the school's hallway, heading to Marco's next class. Marco was wearing his usual attire, that being a red hoodie, a pair of jeans and some sneakers. It went the same for Hekapoo, with her usual flame design dress.

While walking down the hallway, the two talked about various topics, ranging from how one of their classmates looked like a young Theonardo LeCarmio, to the time when Marco's parents took in a homeless girl, who turned out to be one of Hekapoo's ex-husbands in disguise. Right now, their conversation steered into fashion choices.

"How the heck do you wear hoodies every day in the middle of the hottest place in your, what do they call it, country?" Hekapoo asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Marco scratched the back of his head, "Well... okay, not a lot of people know this, but I kinda have this condition where my body temperature is a lot colder than usual, and I mean a LOT colder. The doctor said it's genetic, and it came from my mom."

The demon raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

Marco nodded, and offered his hand to her, "Here, touch it."

Hekapoo clasped her hand around his, and instantly felt the sudden drop of temperature around her own. His hand was so cold, it could cause frostbite if you held onto it long enough. She released his hand and retracted her own, her hand now a bit numb from the coldness.

"Wow, no kidding. No wonder you have like two thick blankets in your room." She said, rubbing her hands together to warm her cold hand up.

"Yeah, it kinda sucks. I tried to talk to my mom about this, but she didn't know anything else other than 'it stayed in the family for around 200-700 years'." He shrugged, "Then, I just kinda got used to it and didn't talk about it much."

"Huh..." Hekapoo's eyes narrowed, as her gaze slowly locked forward, her mind becoming deep in thought. It took a few seconds for Marco to notice her zoning out, making him lift up an eyebrow.

"Uh... Hekapoo? You okay?" He said.

His words snapped her out of her thoughts, and she quickly turned to the boy, "Hm? Oh, sorry. Just... had a thought."

Marco slowly nodded, his eyes slightly narrowed as he looked to the side, "Ooookay, well, let's just get to class. It's freezing here."

With that, they continued to walk and talk to the classroom, their previous subject long forgotten. However, they hadn't noticed the shadowy figure that was stalking them from a dark corner. With an evil chuckle, the figure pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors and ripped a portal open, then hopped through it.

* * *

A large, buff, alligator came out from the newly created portal, standing on his two hind legs. He wore a black tattered cloak over his white tank top, a pair of charcoal black pants, and a matching pair of black boots, his long tail sticking out of the back of his pants.

The room the alligator hopped into was rather large. Black obsidian torches were placed in a line on the dark red walls. The ceiling was high, with multiple red tapestries hand off of the high walls. Right in front of the alligator was a big obsidian throne that seated a certain demon king, who was playing with a paddle with a ball attached to it by a string.

"Dave! I have come back with some good news! I think..." The alligator exclaimed, saluting the king.

"Well then, spit it out, Buffgator!" He demanded, continuing to play his paddle while keeping most of his focus on the alligator.

"Okay, so, it seems to me that Hekapoo and her guardian are walking towards a 'classroom'," He air-quoted the word, "I don't know what that is exactly, but I'm 85% sure that she would be vulnerable while inside it."

Dave smiled evilly, "Good enough. Grab your things and head on over, but remember," He leaned forward, his face more serious than ever, "You only have one shot, don't miss. Once she's out, me and the others will portal on in and take her.

Buffgator saluted. "I won't, Lucitor!" He said, and with that, he turned around and quickly ran out of the throne room, pushing two large doors open on his way out. Dave sighed happily as he leaned back into his throne, a hand behind his head while the other continued playing with his paddle.

"Just you wait, Hekapoo. One shot and you'd wish you stayed married to me. Hehehe..."

* * *

"...so you cancel both fives, and divide these two..." A middle-aged woman was explaining a math problem in front of the classroom. She had cream-colored skin and faded red hair. She wore a lavender shirt, leopard-printed pants, and high heels along with black-rimmed reading glasses and gold hoop earrings. Her name is Miss Margaret Skullnick, Marco's unlikable math teacher. The reasons for her unlikableness are typical; she always gives out tons of homework and is very, VERY boring.

You'd probably die of boredom before the class is halfway done.

But unlike his other classmates - who were succumbing to the sleepiness - Marco was sitting at the front, taking down notes with no signs of falling asleep. Being the Safe Kid and all, he really doesn't want to fail like the rest of his classmates.

Meanwhile, Hekapoo had her head propped up on her arm, lazily tapping her fingers on the table beside Marco's, a bored look on her face. Since she technically wasn't a student, she wasn't obliged to participate in any of the class activities. Normally, Principal Skeeves would not take kind to non-students on campus, but he made an exception for Hekapoo when he was threatened by a creature with a crystal for a head and snakes for arms.

Hekapoo sighed some boredness out of her as she stared at the board full of numbers that were all meaningless to her. She would've continued her staring if it weren't for the slight paranoia rising in her. For some reason, something felt off, and she couldn't shake off the feeling that something bad was about to happen.

The demon glanced sideways to Marco, who was still scribbling down equations in his notebook. She looked behind her at the bored class, who were all either drooling on their desks or texting on their phones, which seemed pretty normal. She squinted her eyes, trying to spot any change in the scene. When she failed, she turned around and to her left to look out of one of the open windows. There was nothing but a line of buildings and a single tree on the other side of an empty street. The area outside was desolate - almost to the point where it's creepy - though she couldn't see anything that was too out of the ordinary.

When a minute of nothingness passed, she slowly turned her head back to the board, giving the outside a long look of suspicion on the way.

Little did she know though, that behind the lonely tree was a certain Buffgator, who had a wooden rifle strapped to his back. He was hiding from the sight of the demon across street, who seemed to not have caught him when he snuck a peek. Sure that she wasn't looking in his direction anymore, he snuck another peek at the classroom.

When he saw that she was looking away, he took the opportunity to jump up and grab hold of a branch. He lifted himself up onto the branch and crouched down, preparing for another jump. Soon enough, after many stealthy jumps, he made it to the very top of the tree, his lower body surrounded by the leaves.

He unstrapped the rifle from his back and fished out a single dart from his pocket. The dart was stubby and green, with a thin needle on one end and white feathers on the other. He popped the rifle open, the barrel and the stock separating like a lever. He carefully loaded the dart into the rifle, and snapped it back close with a click.

The alligator brought the stock to his scaley shoulder and looked through the scope, aiming his crosshair through the open window that displayed the demon. He held his breath and steadied his aim as much as he could.

He only had one shot. He couldn't miss.

He shouldn't miss.

Eventually, he got a steady aim on his target. He slowly squeezed the trigger, and then-

Suddenly, he felt something land on his head. He felt something sharp, something claw-like lightly scratching his head. Buffgator gulped, a single bead of sweat running down the side of his head. He slowly brought his head away from the scope and looked up. His gaze was suddenly met with black beady eyes and a brown beak, the eyes staring right into Buffgator's own.

The alligator's shaking vibrated the whole tree. His lips started trembling, and his knees were starting to go weak as he stared into those dark, horrifying, soul-sucking eyes.

"N-nice b-birdy..." He stuttered.

The bird tilted its head in confusion and continued to just stare at him. Buffgator tried his best to remain still, but when the bird's beak got closer, he couldn't help but scream.

"BIRD! BIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRDBIRD!" The bird was angered by his sudden movements, and began pecking at his head. The alligator flailed his one free arm around to try to get rid of the terrifying creature, but it was no use. Unfortunately for the alligator, he was so focused on being scared that he hadn't noticed his finger had already pulled the trigger, causing the rifle to fire at a random direction.

He jumped down from the top of the tree, face-planting onto the ground. He couldn't care less about his face, as he continued on screaming and frantically shooing the bird away. His screams faded out the farther he ran down the street, until the previous silence flooded the area once again.

* * *

"...so you transpose this and ICK!" The entire class looked up to the front of the room to see a frozen Skullnick. Hekapoo looked closely at the teacher's neck and saw what looked like a dart.

A few seconds later, Miss Skullnick dropped the chalk she held in her hands and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Marco and Hekapoo didn't take long to get up from their seats and run to Miss Skullnick's side.

Marco went to check her pulse and heartbeat like the Safe Kid he is, while Hekapoo carefully plucked out the dart on her neck, inspecting it carefully.

The boy leaned up after checking that she was in fact still alive and turned to the demon beside him, "Well, she's still alive. So-"

"NO MATH! WOO!" All the students behind them suddenly cheered, throwing their fists up and expressing their happiness as loud as possible. It was only a matter of time before everyone rushed to get out of the dreaded classroom, leaving Marco and Hekapoo to deal with Miss Skullnick.

"Um... okay." Hekapoo said, a bit stunned.

"Well, like I was about to say, Skullnick's alive. We should probably take her to the nurse." Marco suggested.

He got up and went to grab the teacher's arm, but the limb started to go green before he could, causing Marco to yelp and let go of the arm immediately. The two got up and stepped away from the teacher, both assuming fighting stances. The green started spreading through her skin, her nose and ears started elongating, and her clothes were starting to stretch from her rapidly growing body. Body hair and moles started to grow uncontrollably around her, some in places the two didn't want to see.

Eventually, it all stopped to display an ugly-looking green-skinned troll with stretched clothes that looked like they were about rip apart if she moved. Marco stared at his math teacher, his eyes wide as dinner plates, "What the heck just happened to her?"

Hekapoo looked down to the dart she had in her hands and back to the unconscious teacher. When she realized what had caused Skullnick's transformation, her face darkened.

"Transmogrification darts, of course." She muttered, her words dripping with venom.

"Transmogri-what now?" Marco asked, visibly confused.

"Transmogrification darts. They turn anyone into anything depending on what you choose," She explained, "And it looks like a certain someone wanted to turn me into a fricking troll so that they can force me to marry them for the cure." She gripped on the dart angrily, and burnt it to a crisp, letting the ashes fall out of her hand.

"Well, what do we do now?" Marco said as he glanced at the unconscious Skullnick with concern. She may be unlikable as heck, but she's still his teacher, and he wouldn't wish whatever is happening to her onto anyone.

The demon went over to her and grabbed one of her arms. "Come on, let's get back to the house. I think I know a way to change her back." She grunted as she lifted the heavy arm around her shoulder.

Marco nodded and proceeded to help her, wrapping the other arm around his shoulder, almost falling down from the weight as he did so. They dragged Skullnick out of the classroom and eventually out of the school, heading to Marco's home.

* * *

After a long, back-breaking walk, the three had made it to the Diaz house. Since no one was home, Marco had to fish out his own house key while trying to not let the arm drop from his shoulder. It proved difficult for him, but he managed to grab his keys and kick the door open before his knees gave out. They made their way up the stairs, dragging Skullnick by her feet and letting her head bump the steps.

They kicked the door to Hekapoo's room open, and set the unconscious troll in the middle of the room with a loud thud. Marco wiped the huge amounts of sweat on his forehead and stretched his back, letting the bones pop and crack. Hekapoo didn't waste time for exercises and went straight to grab something beneath her bed.

She pulled out a very wide, gray briefcase by its brown handle. She blew on it, making dust flying everywhere. The demon popped the locks open and lifted one side up to reveal different kinds of vials. They were all different colors, ranging from black to even pink, each had a label under them in a runic language Marco couldn't understand.

"Where'd you get those?" The boy asked.

"I knew a guy who sells counter potions. I needed them just in case something like that happens to me." She pointed her thumb to the troll.

"You sure do know a lot of guys."

She shrugged, "I watch over the multiverse. I'm bound to know a few guys here and there." She skimmed through the labels, trying to find the correct potion. Once her gaze fell upon the label under a green potion, she grabbed it quickly, "Aha! Here it-"

She was suddenly cut off by a loud and raspy scream that came from behind. Both of them had to cover their ears to block out the horrendous sound. Once the screaming stopped, they turned to the source. Miss Skullnick had just woken up, and she was frantically inspecting herself with a shocked expression.

"What happened to me?!" Skullnick demanded, her voice similar to that of a chain smoker's. She was panting and sweating hard. She kept on tugging on her now small clothes and her long nose.

"Miss Skullnick, calm down, breath." Marco soothed the troll as the two slowly approached her.

This only seemed to scare her more. "What did you do to me?!" She pointed an accusing finger at the two.

"Margaret, you were shot by a dart that turned you into that," She pointed to the troll, "But I have a potion that can turn you back. All you have to do is drink it and you'll be-"

"No! I'm not drinking anything you're giving me!" She exclaimed. In the blink of an eye, she got up from the floor and bursted out of the room, screaming for dear life.

"Miss Skullnick!" The two called out. They ran after the fleeting troll. They could feel the vibrations from the troll's footsteps through the floor as they ran downstairs. Once they reached the living room,they were greeted by an open door and no sign of the troll.

Hekapoo groaned as she pocketed the vial, "Come on, let's go find her."

Clones of her appeared at her sides, and they all turned to the original Hekapoo, "Alright, you all know what to do. Spread out and find Skullnick."

The clones nodded, and they all headed through the door one by one, running in different directions. After all the clones were out, Hekapoo grabbed Marco's arm and dashed out of the house, running down a street while half-dragging Marco along the way.

* * *

The sun was halfway down the horizon, painting the sky a warm mixture of gold and orange. People were heading home from a long day of work or school. Streetlights were starting to come to life, and the streets were starting to become empty.

Yet, no sign of Miss Skullnick anywhere.

It had been hours since she ran away. Hekapoo's clones had searched everywhere. They searched through entire buildings, houses, and even creepy alleyways with creepy homeless men, but there were no signs of the troll anywhere.

Most of the clones had already given up on the search, having blew out the flame on their heads, but some still pushed on. Still, it's only a matter of time before they give up and blow out their flames.

The original Hekapoo was still on the search, but was visibly exhausted along with Marco, both from running and calling the troll's name. They were walking down an empty street, the sides filled with tall buildings and parked cars.

"Margaret!"

"Miss Skullnick!" Marco sighed exasperatedly, "This is hopeless. We're never gonna find her."

Hekapoo chose to ignore Marco's words of defeat and continued on calling out to their missing troll, "Margaret! Marga-"

She stopped when she heard a soft sob coming from her left. She turned to the source to see a dark alleyway that turned right. Marco noticed the sound too, and glanced at Hekapoo. They both nodded, knowing what the other was the thinking, like they had telepathy. The boy clenched his fists while the demon conjured a fireball, both ready for any surprise attacks.

They walked over to the beginning of the dark alley and began traversing deeper. The buildings were blocking the little sunlight there was left, and there were no lights of any kind, so the alley was as dark as one in the middle of the night.

Once they reached the corner, the two hugged the inner wall with Hekapoo in front. The sobs continued as she snuck a peek from behind the wall. There she could see a large, familiar figure sitting down on some boxes. It had its face in its green hands, letting the tears flow freely.

Hekapoo instantly knew who it was. She turned back to Marco and gestured him to walk carefully. The boy nodded, and the two got away from the wall and slowly approached the crying figure. Once they were a reasonable distance from it, the fireball in Hekapoo's hands confirmed that the crying figure was indeed Miss Skullnick.

"Miss Skullnick?" Marco softly called out.

Skullnick flinched, and snapped her gaze towards the two, fear and tears visible on her face. The two expected her to get up and shove through the both of them, and run as far as she could away from them, but she didn't do those things. Instead, she went back to crying in her hands.

"Margaret, are you okay?" Hekapoo asked, cringing at such a stupid question.

The troll sniffed, "N-no..."

"Miss Skullnick, we're really sorry that we scared you and that you got turned into a troll. Look, we have-"

The troll shook her head, stopping Marco. "No, I'm not crying about that," She sighed exasperatedly, "It's actually another thing. My husband... he left me."

Marco's eyes widened at the revelation while Hekapoo just sighed. The demon knew what Margaret was getting into, and she really didn't want to hear it, but she tried to listen anyway.

"He was the love of my life. We used to go out to dinner every weekend, and we used to sing really badly at karaoke," A smile crept up her lips, "We did everything together, but then..." Skullnick started sobbing and planted her face in her hands again. Hekapoo reached a hand to her back and tried to sooth her.

When Skullnick got a hold of herself, she continued, "We got into... a fight. He called me ugly, and hideous. He wished that he never married me, and that I was a burden in his life. Then he threw all my things out and slammed the door in my face."

"Wow, that's harsh..." Marco muttered.

"Margaret..." Hekapoo put both of her hands on Skullnick's shoulders, and turned her so that they were face to face. "Listen, I've been there too. My 15th husband, the one that I loved so much, left me for some stupid reason. I was so depressed that I started drinking it all away, and I still sometimes do, but after some time, you know what I realized?" Skullnick shook her head, "I realized that I gave up. I gave up and started drinking my depression away, and it was too late to stop my incoming addiction. Even with Marco here, I just can't stop drinking, and I got suspended from my job and got sent here to Earth because of it."

The demon pointed a finger to the troll, "You are one step closer to giving up, but you're still haven't reached the point of no return. My point is, don't give up. Stay strong and you won't mess up your life like I did, and hey," She put on a warm smile, "Maybe you'll have a better luck at love than I did."

Skullnick returned the smile and wiped the last drops of tears from her eyes, "Thanks Hekapoo."

Marco wiped a tear from his eye, "That was beautiful, Hekapoo."

The demon reached into her pocket and pulled out the green-colored potion from before, "You still don't wanna drink this?"

The troll eyed the potion, a slight hint of hesitation on her face, but she pushed it down and reached out to grab the potion.

"Well, wasn't that heartwarming." A familiar voice sprang from behind them, immediately darkening Hekapoo's face and putting a mix of confusion and slight fear on Skullnick's. The demon pocketed the potion once again and turned around to face her persistent ex-husbands, taking a fighting stance beside Marco.

"Dave, I swear to everything that is magical, if guys don't leave right now, I'm gonna shove my foot so far up your butts, it's gonna out of your mouths." She spat.

Dave laughed, "Oh, H-poo, you still make me laugh to this day." He turned his gaze towards the troll behind her. "I see Buffgator's mistake worked."

Marco raised an eyebrow, "Mistake?"

"Mhm. Buffgator was supposed to shoot H-poo with a sleeping dart, but not only did he miss, he grabbed a transmogrification dart instead." He turned around and glared at Buffgator, who had his head wrapped in bandages and a black eye.

"Sorry." The alligator muttered.

Dave simply rolled his eyes and turned back to the two, "Whatever. Now, get her!"

All of her exes - Buffgator included - rushed past Dave towards the two. Hekapoo conjured a couple of fireballs and tossed them onto the incoming stampede. One fireball hit Bear in the stomach, making him scream in pain and fall to the ground, while the other missed, simply flying over everyone.

Flyguy flew over to Marco, then lifted the lead pipe in his hands, ready to strike the bou. "Buzz buzz, Safe Ki-" He was out of the fight quickly when his face was met with Marco's karate chop. When Mudman closed in on him to grab him, Marco made to kick him in the stomach, but his leg was stopped by an invisible hand. The captor uncovered himself to be Handsome Vampire, who had his fangs out to suck the boy's blood out. Unfortunately, Marco was strong enough to pull the vampire down to the floor and make him face-plant, making the incoming mass of mud trip on the downed ex and splat as well.

"My face! My beautiful face!" The vampire screamed before letting his head fall on the concrete again.

Buffgator and Rottington were approaching Hekapoo, the former brandishing a net while the latter had a leash. "Get in the net, Hekapoo!" The zombie demanded.

"Try me, Rottington!" Hekapoo conjured flames around her hands and punched the zombie in the face, detaching his face and sending it flying. Buffgator was met with the same fate, flying off to where the zombie's head had landed.

Buffgator crashed and slid along the concrete floor, then slowly stopped right next to Rottington's head. "Hey." The head said.

"Hey... So, how's your sis- OOF!" He was cut off when he was crushed by Rottington's heavily burnt body.

Marco was now fighting Spacecat, who was hovering with a jetpack and brandishing a futuristic plasma pistol at the boy, and Twitch the Rabbit, who was constantly jumping in place.

"Give it up, Marco! She's ours!" The cat declared before firing a plasma shot Marco. The boy managed to dodge the shot, but was immediately kicked in the face by the foot of the hyperactive rabbit.

"Hello hi yes hello, I'm Twitch. Twitch the Rabbit, it's so nice to meet you. I really think your blood all over you suits you. You think so? I think so too! Hahahahaha!" Twitch jumped in circles around the downed Marco, occasionally kicking the boy down whenever he tried to get up. Marco gritted his teeth, his patience for the rabbit quickly dissipating. When Twitch went for another kick, Marco managed to grab his foot, shocking the rabbit. With all the strength he could muster, he threw the rabbit towards the Spacecat hard, who was trying to get clear shot at him the whole time. The two of them grunted and flew backwards, then fell to the ground, both getting knocked out.

Meanwhike, five of Hekapoo's exes were now surrounding her. One was Mr. Antlers brandished his briefcase at her, which had multiple knives sticking out of it. Another was the Armless Blacksmith, who's mechanical arms held a huge net. Another two were the Shadow Twins, who both had dark claws extending from their hands, their blood-red eyes glaring at Hekapoo. And lastly was Orion, who had his decagonal body floating a few inches off the ground, his heat beating Hekapoo's natural heat resistance a bit.

They were all closing in on the furious demon, reaching out their hands to grab her. When the demon tried to punch the deer, he dodged it and tried to return the favor - with intent of knocking her out. However, Hekapoo ducked, and the punch was met with Skullnick's face, who was standing behind the demon the whole time.

The twin retracted his arm back when he saw the rising fury coming the troll's face. The others gulped as she slowly turned her head towards the group. Finally, she roared out her anger, causing everyone in the vicinity to cover their ears. Quickly, she grabbed a nearby trash can and hurled it towards Mr. Antlers, which hit him hard and sent him flying back. The others - including Hekapoo and Marco - watched in shock and fear as the deer fell to the ground with a loud thud.

When the armless blacksmith turned back to the troll, he was immediately punched in the face. Skullnick grabbed the arms on his contraption, and began spinning the blacksmith around. The spinning grew faster as Skullnick aimed for the decagonal star. When she got a clear shot, she hurled the unfortunate blacksmith at the star, sending them flying backwards like their deer friend.

The two shadow twins turned to the slowly approaching troll, their previous glare nonexistent now. "Nope, we're outta here!" They said simultaneously. But before they could even turn around, their necks were caught by Skullnick's hands. They struggled for air as the troll lifted them up high up, then slammed them down to the concrete with a loud crash, making tons of dust flying everywhere. After a moment, the dust finally settled to reveal the twins stuck in the concrete, their legs and arms twitching.

Dave coughed and tried to swat away the dust. When he saw the damage the three had done, anger took over him.

"Oh, are you kidding me?!" He complained, "Even when she's in a dark alleyway by an empty street, you guys still can't capture her! You are all a bunch of losers! Losers, I say! I swear-" His complaints were cut off when Skullnick's shadow engulfed him. She looked down at him and cracked her knuckles, her eyes showing off her murderous intent.

Dave gulped. "Well, it's been fun, but we should really get going. Heh." He pulled out his pair of dimensional scissors and ripped a portal open.

"Come on, move your butts!" He called out to the other exes. They all groaned and got up - the shadows twins having a hard time with that - and staggered towards the portal. Once they were all on the other side, the portal was sealed closed, leaving nothing but air in its place.

An awestruck Marco turned towards Skullnick, "Whoa, Miss Skullnick, that was really cool!"

The troll raised an eyebrow, "It was?"

Hekapoo nodded, "Mhm. The way you slammed the twins into concrete was... wow!"

Skullnick smiled warmly, "Thanks, you two."

They both returned her smile. Hekapoo dug her hand in her pocket, then brought out the potion again, "Well, now that my exes won't bother me for a while, I think it's time you drink this."

Skullnick tore her gaze from the two towards the potion in the demon's hands. A thoughtful look took over her face as she stared at the green liquid. She stayed like that for a few seconds, before the troll finally shook her head, "No."

The two raised their eyebrows, "No?"

"No. You know, I'm gonna keep whatever this is." She patted her bicep, "It's a lot more useful than my old body. Plus, if I ever come across my ex-husband again, then I can easily teach him a lesson."

Hekapoo chuckled and playfully punched Skullnick on the arm, "That's the spirit."

The three chuckled as they walked out of the dark alleyway and into the now lit up street, chatting and laughing all the way home, leaving whatever destruction was left.

* * *

Later that night...

Hekapoo and Marco were having their traditional movie night, with snacks and drinks littered all over the coffee table. The demon had grown quite fond of watching movies over the past movie nights, all thanks to Marco.

She was cuddled up nicely in a warm blanket, her eyes glued to the TV screen. However, her gaze was ripped away when the couch started shaking. She glanced to Marco's side, and noticed that he was shivering. His teeth were clattering, and his face was almost the same skin tone as Hekapoo's. He was desperately rubbing at his sleeves, trying to warm up his arms some more.

"Ah, j-jeez. S-stupid c-cold body..." He muttered, his eyes shut closed from the cold.

Marco suddenly felt something envelop him, instantly warming him up. The boy opened his eyes to see a blanket over his body. He turned to his side and saw that Hekapoo was now shoulder-to-shoulder with him, and the blanket was covering both of them.

"There. Better?" She asked as she stared at him expectantly.

He stared at the demon dumbfoundedly, before a warm smile crept up on Marco's face, "Th-thanks, Hekapoo."

She returned his smile. "No problem." They both turned back to the movie, the two now warm under the single blanket.


	5. How To Survive A Night In Quest Buy

Revision #1 (7/22/18)

Aight, that's the last revision for now. Time to get to back to making actual chapters now! Hooray!

Next one is gonna be Diaz Family Vacation, though it won't be much of a vacation. Also, a certain someone will replace King River in the chapter, try to guess who.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 5: How To Survive A Night In Quest Buy

* * *

It was another day in the Diaz house. The skies were clear, the birds were chirping, and Marco Diaz was happily watching a cartoon show about ninjas, a plate of his special nachos and some soda on the coffee table. It was going to be a school day, but a recent event had Principal Skeeves cancel the next week of school. He heard it had something to do with a bunch of traps and land mines in the football field, but Marco wasn't too sure.

"You killed my brother! For that, you will pay!" A ninja in all white yelled from the TV, followed by a low, off screen chuckle. The scene cut to another ninja in all black.

"No, Kazu, it wasn't Hiroki," The ninja removed his mask, revealing his true identity, "It was me, Reo!"

The scene cut back to the now wide-eyed white ninja, his whole body shaking with fear. He fell down to his knees, and yelled up to the sky, "NOOOOO!"

A look of disgust appeared on Marco's face as he pointed a hand at the TV. "What? Oh, come on! Did they really have to pull that stuff?" He grumbled, and stuffed some nachos in his mouth to try to calm himself down after such a disappointing twist.

"Marco!" A voice called out from the boy's right side. He turned to the source, and saw Hekapoo coming down from the stairs, clad in her usual attire.

"What is it?" Marco asked.

"I need you to come with me to Quest Buy. I have some things I need and I can't find them all on my own."

The boy raised an eyebrow, "Quest Buy? Is that like the multiverse's medieval version of Chest Buy?"

"Yup, pretty much. Now come on, the store closes in two hours." She said as she pulled out her dimensional scissors from her pocket.

The sounds of swords clashing and whizzing through the air were now being emitted by the TV as a cool action scene took place. Marco looked back and forth from the show and Hekapoo, who had now ripped open a portal. When his gaze went over to the TV one more time, it stayed put, contemplating the show.

"Hmm, I would, but..." As soon as he said it, Hekapoo groaned and rolled her eyes in frustration. She had been expecting this kind of response from him.

She waved a dismissive hand and turned to the portal. "No no, it's okay. It's not like you'd want a super cool custom-made katana anyway."

Marco's eyebrows shot up immediately, and he snapped his head back at Hekapoo so fast, she thought his head would have flown off his body. "Super cool custom-made katana?!" He repeated, his hands gripping tightly onto the arm rest.

The demon smirked at her housemate's excitement. He was too easy to convince sometimes. She nodded, "Mhm, and I'll throw it in my list just for you. Think of it as a really early birthday gift or something."

"Well, what're waiting for?! Let's go!" He vaulted over the couch, and sprinted towards the portal like it was his prey. Once the boy was on the other side, Hekapoo couldn't help but snort at his childlike excitement before following him.

* * *

After he stepped through the portal, Marco couldn't help but gaze around in awe. There were shelves full of different kinds of weapons, potions, and other accessories. Banners hung above the numerous isles, stating what each isle contains. Different creatures wandered around the place, some with only a few items while some had up to three carts full of stuff.

"Whoa, this place is frickin' huge!" He exclaimed, spreading his arms outwards for emphasis. Hekapoo had just stepped through the portal, but caught what Marco said.

"Yeah, and both confusing and time-consuming. Which is why we need to hurry and get out of here before closing time." She pulled out a small piece of paper that was the size of her palm. Seeing how small it was, Marco thought they would get their items in no time, until she unfolded it, which lengthened the piece of paper down to the floor and up to his feet, making Marco pale at the sight.

"How the heck are we gonna get all of those?" He pointed to the long list.

Hekapoo couldn't resist rolling her eyes. "You'd be surprised how often you finish a list that would normally take hours in only half of one in this place. Now grab a cart and let's go. We only have..." She pushed a few buttons on a watch, emitting a few beeps, which made Marco furrow his eyebrows. He was pretty sure she wasn't wearing one before she went through the portal. "...two hours to do this."

He shrugged off his previous thought and nodded, then grabbed a cart from a nearby line. They headed down an isle for the first item on the list, starting their long and possibly dangerous search through this treacherous and notorious place known as...

Quest Buy...

* * *

"Huh, that wasn't as long as I expected it to be." Marco said as he pushed a cart filled with a mountain of various items.

It had only taken the two forty minutes to get all the items in Hekapoo's shopping list, and another ten for Marco to get his super cool custom-made katana. The katana's blade was made out of strong, stainless iron that shimmered in the lights above, with multiple engravings of Japanese characters on the black hilt. The sword was currently safe in a sheath that hung off the boy's back.

"Told you." Hekapoo said a bit smugly. She was walking by the side of the cart, holding onto it. When she heard a few whistles and whooshes from behind her, she looked back and saw Marco had started swinging his new sword around, the blade becoming a white blur as he did, with one hand on the cart handle.

"This is so cool." He said as he swung it around some more, his eyes sparkling at such coolness.

"I'm gonna bet you'll be so obsessed with that, you'll start sleeping with it beside you like it's a person." Hekapoo jokingly said, snickering at the possible scene playing in her head.

Marco seemed to have taken the joke a bit seriously, evident by his glare towards the demon. "Hey, unlike some people, I'm not entirely obsessed with Japanese wea-" Before he could finish, he was cut off by a loud, bored voice that echoed throughout the store, compressed by the intercom.

"Attention Quest Buy shoppers, due to an accident in the restroom involving octopus tentacles and a very curious woman, the store will be closing in one minute." A click followed after, stopping the intercom.

Fear struck Hekapoo's eyes, and her pale face paled even more at those words. "Oh no..." She muttered, her voice shaky from fear.

Marco raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Um, Hekapoo? What's wro-whoa!" He couldn't finish, as his arm was quickly grabbed by hers. They were now sprinting down the isles, with Marco both holding onto his katana and the cart, and his arm being gripped tightly by Hekapoo. The boy was struggling to run with the demon, and some items were falling off of the cart, but Hekapoo seemed to not care for those two.

"Heka-ah! Jeez! Hekapoo, what the heck is going on?!" He yelled as he continued to trip on various items that were conveniently placed in front of them. Hekapoo didn't respond though, she just continued to run through isles, muttering something about "checkout" while doing so.

After a while of whizzing past shelves, the two finally made it into open space, now a short distance away from the checkout lines.

"There!" Hekapoo yelled, pointing to the barely filled lines. People were getting finished with paying for their items, and were now ripping open portals to whatever dimension they were heading to.

Marco, meanwhile, was panting and rubbing his arm. He was sure the seams in his arm were going to rip apart if she continued pulling on it. He sheathed his katana and turned to Hekapoo with a look of pure confusion and slight anger.

"Hekapoo, seriously, what the heck is going on?" He panted, bending over with his hands on his knees. Her response once again was to grab his arm and run towards the checkout.

She sprinted with all the power her legs can give her. Strands of hair stuck onto her glistening face, and her shirt was drenched in sweat. Determination and fear filled her eyes as her feet continued to lift off and fall to the ground.

Marco, on the other hand, was trying hard not to trip and faceplant onto the floor, keep his arm attached to his body, and not lose the cart.

"Come on come on come on..." She muttered out-of-breath. One by one, employees were starting to leave their stations - some grabbing mops, and some grabbing various weapons, then heading to the restroom - until one employee was left, tending to his last customer.

She sped up towards the one person line. Both of their legs were on fire. Hekapoo's feet were hitting the ground so hard, they were leaving cracks on the floor. Normally, she would abide by the rules and not leave cracks everywhere, but she didn't care about anything else other than getting to that darn checkout.

They got closer, and closer, and closer, until...

"No... Oh, no..." The last employee had just finished putting the customer's items in what seemed to be an endless paper bag, and now left his station. She was so close, just a few more feet, and they would be out of there. The flames around her legs slowly died down.

If she was scared before, now she was utterly terrified. Marco could feel her arm shaking like an earthquake, and he could see just the amount of fear that filled her body through her eyes.

"Hekapoo," He started, her fear getting to him, "What's happening?"

He was met with silence, until she whispered, "Closing time."

As if on cue, the same bored voice spoke through the intercom, "Attention remaining Quest Buy shoppers, the store is now closed."

Suddenly, all the lights shut off with a loud, booming click, causing Marco to yelp and hug Hekapoo's arm.

"Ah! What the?!" He yelled. The two were left in near complete darkness, with Hekapoo's flame only lighting a small area around them. Complete silence filled the atmosphere; any sound that wasn't their heavy breathing were nonexistent.

Hekapoo shook her head, seemingly snapping from her feared state, and turned to Marco. "Come on, we gotta hide." She whispered, and before he knew it, Marco was being dragged by his arm again.

The demon tried to not crash into anything with the bit of light they had. The sounds of their shoes clicking on the floor and the occasional thud of a falling item were the only ones that filled the creepy atmosphere.

"Here, quick!" Hekapoo whispered. They stopped at a neatly stacked pile of Inflatable Armory boxes that reached as high as the nearby shelves. The demon didn't waste any time in throwing the boxes over her shoulder, nearly hitting Marco and making him complain.

She tossed a few more boxes away until she encountered an old wooden door. She pulled on the circular, metal handle and opened it to a dark and somewhat medium-sized room. Marco would've questioned it if it weren't for the demon literally shoving him and the shopping cart inside. Once he was inside, she quickly entered and quietly closed the door.

Marco groaned as he rubbed his head that unfortunately hit the wall behind him. Once the pain subsided, he got up and glanced around the room. The size of the room seemed to only fit the two of them and the shopping cart. The old wooden walls were unpainted and showed signs of wither, which could only mean that the room had been around for a very long time.

Millions of questions were racing through his mind now, and the person who was going to answer just entered the room, her flame being the only thing providing light to the dark room. "Okay, Hekapoo, I think it's time you tell me what in the absolute heck is going on." He said, feeling a hint of anger rise in his body.

Once she was sure that the door was secure, she sighed and turned to Marco. "Okay okay, I'll tell you." She took a deep breath, "Hoo, okay, so surprisingly, Quest Buy, the place with the least helpful and productive employees in the multiverse, has really good security. And I mean REALLY good security."

A drop of sweat ran down Marco's temple. He gulped, "W-what does that mean?"

"It means that during closed hours, a security robot becomes active and patrol around the store, looking for any 'possible intruders'," She air-quoted, "Which basically means everyone left here, which means you and me."

"What kind of person would implement such a thing like that?" Marco fumed, getting only a shrug in response, "Well, can't we just rip a portal open?"

The demon shook her head. "We can't. You can't portal in and out during closed hours. And no magic either, even during the day. It's the reason why I didn't clone myself and had them help me."

The boy slumped back against the wall. "We're gonna die, aren't we?" He said.

"We won't if we just stay here and wait it out." She said as she sat down in front of Marco, her feet hugged up against her chest, "We only have around... five hours left until the store opens again."

Marco groaned exasperatedly, and covered his face with his hands, "We're definitely gonna die."

The two stayed there in complete silence. Marco was staring at the ceiling, counting the amount of protruding splinters and molds, while Hekapoo was lazily scratching her knee, trying to get rid of a piece of lint that got stuck on her dress.

After a while, the boy seemed to notice the silence that hung around them, which became a bit awkward - and creepy- now that he knew how awfully quiet it was. "So... how'd you find this room?" He said, trying to reduce the awkwardness and creepiness of the surrounding silence.

"Found it when I was shopping for Inflatable Armories. A box dropped and I found the door." The demon chuckled, "Who knew this thing would be actually useful."

Marco chuckled alongside her, their light laughs filling the room. After a moment, their chuckles died down, and they were left in silence once more. Hekapoo continued on scratching on the piece of lint on her dress, while Marco simply stared at the ceiling.

But in just a few minutes, the silence was broken again, but not by the two. Soft, metallic stomps could be heard from outside the room, which grew louder the longer it went on. The two were on high alert now, listening for any changes in the sounds that could tell them they've been caught.

The sounds were now emanating just a very short distance away from the door, until they stopped, and were replaced by the sounds of various robotic limbs moving. The two held their breaths and watched the gap under the door closely, both of their hearts racing. A low yellow light started seeping through the gap, which increased and decreased in brightness whenever the sound of moving was heard.

This continued on for a while, much to the duo's rising fear. Eventually and fortunately, the yellow light disappeared, letting the previous darkness and the orange glow from Hekapoo's flame replace it. The two sighed in relief as their hearts started to calm down.

But their small time of relief was cut short when a huge, metallic fist crashed through the ceiling, sending chunks of wood and dust flying everywhere. They both screamed - with Marco's being a bit more high-pitched than he liked. The arm grabbed at the air around it, looking for them. Hekapoo and Marco made a run for it, heading to the door. But when the demon swung it open, the arm managed to grab hold of Marco's hoodie and pull him up through the roof.

Hekapoo gasped. She ran towards the cart full of items and dug her hand into the mountain. Her hand rummaged around it for a moment, before coming out with an iron flail in its grip. She rushed out of the room - kicking the door off its hinges in the process - and turned to the Marco's captor that stood on top of the pile of eye- catching boxes.

His captor was huge, possibly taller than the nearby shelves. A brown sphere of metal made up its, with metal tubing protruding out of the spots where the arms and legs should be. Its hands and feet were simple brown cylinders, with little metal stubs as fingers for the hands that were connected by wires. A similar, smaller sphere made up the head. The only features it had were the creepy, glowing, yellow circles it had for eyes.

Its cylinder hand held Marco tightly. It brought him up to its face, only inches between the boy and the robot. The robot scrutinized the boy, looking everywhere from eyes to feet. All the while, Marco shaking and whimpering, beads of sweat slithering down his forehead.

"INTRUDER!" The robot yelled out in a menacing tone. Its eyes turned from its creepy yellow to a violent red. It clenched its hand into a fist and lifted it up in the air, ready to squish Marco into a pulp.

Hekapoo was charging towards the robot as soon as it yelled, her flail swinging in a blurry circle as she ran. A battle cry escaped her lips, catching the attention of the other two. Once the robot noticed the charging demon, it ripped a plank of wood from the roof it was standing on and threw it at her, but it was dodged easily. It continued on throwing wood at the demon, trying to slow her down, but failed miserably as they all missed.

Once she reached the pile of boxes, she jumped up and teared through all the air between her and the robot, surprising both Marco and the hunk of metal. When she was close enough to its leg, she swung the flail at it, denting it and making the robot fall backwards and down the pile.

The demon landed on the side of the pile, and immediately jumped into the air. She soared above the robot, who was still recovering from its fall. She kept swinging the flail above her head, and with another battle cry, she dropped onto the robot and struck its head with as much force as her arms could muster. With a loud clang, the flail collided with the robot head, leaving a massive dent and causing the robot to short out. The glow in its eyes dissipated, and the grip it had on Marco instantly disappeared. Both the robot and Marco ungracefully fell to the ground.

"Ow." Marco grunted. He got up and rubbed his now sore back, muttering something about back problems. Hekapoo was quick to run to him and seize his arm again.

"Come on, we gotta get out of here!" She exclaimed. She half-dragged Marco away from the still shorted-out robot. They ran down numerous isles, trying to put as much distance between them and the robot as possible. The two ran for what seemed like hours, and the need for air were starting to wear them down, Marco more so.

They stopped beside a shelf for combat potions, letting their lungs take in all the air they want. Marco's heart was racing - and not the good kind of racing - and he looked like he took jumped in a pool of sweat with all of his clothes. Saying that millions of questions were running around his mind right now would be a huge understatement.

"W-what the heck-hah-what the heck was that thing?" He panted.

"That was-hah jeez-that was security." She replied, hands on knees and panting at a lesser rate than Marco.

Their short break was unfortunately cut short when they heard distant clangs coming from the direction they came from. They turned to the source, fear evident in their eyes. Only seconds passed before the robot emerged from the side of the isle, a huge dent on its sparking head and its eyes more red than ever.

The robot caught the sight of the two supposed intruder, and charged down the isle. It was fast, too fast for their liking. It whizzed past the shelves with the speed of fifty warnicorns, its cylindrical feet hitting the floor hard.

Gasps escaped their lips. Hekapoo instinctively turned to the shelf beside her and grabbed a few potions, and tossed all of them simultaneously at the charging hunk of metal. They were harmless against the robot, either exploding in a colored cloud or simply just breaking and splashing the liquid onto the robot's body, which seemed to anger it more, evident by its faster pace.

After the last potion was thrown - which shattered harmlessly - they didn't waste time in getting the heck out of there. They ran down the isles once again, this time with what could be considered death itself on their tail, stomping its feet hard onto the ground as chased after them. They drifted corners, jumped over various items on display, and ran like they were on fire. When they rounded another corner, Marco glanced back. They only made it a few meters into the isle before their chaser slid around the corner and continued the chase, causing Marco to yelp and glance away.

They emerged from the isle once again, and stopped at a round clearing, with incredibly tall shelves surrounding it, tall enough to deny Hekapoo access if she were to jump up. A platform sat in the middle of the clearing, displaying two pairs of Bouncy Boots that were 50% off. Marco eyed the boots curiously as the distance between them and the robot kept decreasing.

Hekapoo was about to grab Marco and run off into another isle, but before she could, she heard Marco call out her name. She turned to the boy, and a pair of Bouncy Boots were tossed into her hands. She raised an eyebrow, and glanced back to Marco, but she was met with the boy jumping high onto a shelf, a pair of Bouncy Boots hugging his feet.

"Hekapoo, come on!" He yelled out, gesturing his hand to follow him. Hekapoo nodded, and started taking off her shoes. She put on the boots as fast as she could, and when she finished putting on the last one, the robot appeared from the isle they came from. The demon gasped, and immediately ran to the shelf Marco was on. Once she was close to the shelf, she jumped up. With a loud boing, the heels of her boots sprang out, and she was sent high up into the air. She reached the top of the shelf, but she was not close enough to land on it though, and she started falling back down, yelping and flailing her half-occupied arms as she did so.

Her fall stopped when she felt something grab hold of her one unoccupied arm, and she hit the shelf lightly. She glanced up, and saw Marco down on his stomach, holding onto her hand with both arms.

"Come on!" He said through gritted teeth. The demon dug her heels onto the shelf and pulled herself up, with Marco grunting as he pulled the demon up. Once she was safely on top, the two tried to catch their breaths, both bent over with their hands on their knees.

"You okay?" The boy asked, panting as he did.

The demon waved a dismissive hand. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

Suddenly, the shelf started to shake violently, nearly throwing the two of their balance. They glanced down to the floor, and was met with the horrifying image of the robot ramming into shelf with its arm, multiple items falling from their spots as it did so.

The two turned back to each other and yelled, "Run!"

They ran down the top of the shelf, their boots squeaking along with their panting. The robot noticed their escape, and chased after them on the floor, ramming into the shelf to throw the two off balance.

The two kept on wobbling from the vigorous shaking, nearly falling off at one point. They kept on running until they were met with a wide isle that intersected their path. The gap got closer, and instinctively, Marco jumped. The heels of his boots sprang out, and he teared through the air before landing perfectly on the other side of the isle. Hekapoo followed suit, jumping and clearing the gap, and this time landing safely on the other side.

The two didn't waste any more time, and continued on escaping the robot. They ran on top of the shelves, trying to not succumb to the robot's ramming as they did so. They cleared gaps, the loud boings echoing throughout the store along with the crashes from the robot.

The two landed on another shelf, and continued their escape. The shelf seemed to be way shorter than all the other ones, as only seconds in, they were met with another gap. But this time, the gap was too huge for them to clear. Hekapoo didn't take the time to notice the improbability of them making it, and just went for it. The wind whizzed past her, the strands of hair from her bun and her flail flailing around. The other side came closer, and closer, and clo-

She missed, and starting falling down to the ground. Luckily, her fall was broken by a pile of conveniently placed pillows, landing on them with an 'oof'. Unluckily, she was now stuck on the ground with the robot, who was now charging straight for the demon.

"Hekapoo!" Marco shouted from shelves. He ran away from gap and ran back, trying to get enough speed. Once he reached the end, he jumped up high and started falling to where the robot had stopped in front of the demon. He unsheathed his katana on the way down, and pointed the blade down. He let out a battle cry, which caught the attention of the other two.

The gap between him and the robot quickly decreased, until the boy eventually landed hard on the robot and struck his sword into its head. At least, that's what he hoped had happened. Instead of the blade piercing the metal, it instead bent sideways with a horrible squeak. Everyone paused, with the robot having narrowed, confused eyes while Hekapoo and Marco had eyes filled with fear.

The boy brought the bent sword up to his face. With furrowed eyebrows, he muttered, "Did I just get scam-OOF!" He was then met by a big metal fist to the chest, stopping him from finishing his sentence. He whizzed through the air, and crashed into a pile of conveniently placed weapons next to another pile of conveniently placed pillows.

"Marco!" She yelled. She looked back to the robot, her teeth gritted and her eyes on fire. Fortunately for her, that little distraction gave Hekapoo the time to get up and jump up at the robot. The robot turned its head too late, and was met with another swing to the face by her flail, worsening the dent on his head. The robot stumbled backwards and clasped the dent as Hekapoo landed on the ground.

Hekapoo charged at the robot again, swinging her flail around and letting out a battle cry. The robot noticed, and the fury within it doubled along with the glow of its eyes. It clenched a fist and charged as well. Their feet hit the floor hard as they sprinted. Once they were close, the robot lifted its fist up in the air, ready to strike down on the demon. Hekapoo was a little faster however, and she was able to jump up and uppercut the robot with her flail before it could start bringing its fist down.

The robot stumbled backwards once again, but this time, it didn't have time to recover as it was immediately met with a strike to its chest. Hekapoo continued to swing at the robot, landing another blow to where she struck its chest. She kept at it for while, landing blow after blow after blow, worsening the dent on its chest and not once giving the hunk of metal a chance to strike back.

But her spree had to eventually end, as her flail was caught by the robot's hand. Hekapoo's eyes widened, and before she knew it, she was being swung around and tossed through the air. Her weaponless body hit the ground hard, and she slid across the floor, until she stopped right by the pile of conveniently placed pillows she landed on.

The robot threw the flail away, and began charging at the now unarmed demon. Hekapoo was still trying to get up when she noticed the robot quickly closing the distance between them. Once it was close, the robot lifted its fist up above its head, ready to strike down on the demon. Knowing she didn't have time to escape, she shut her eyes closed and braced for the impending pain.

"Hey!" The robot stopped and looked towards the source of the sound, only to be met by a cannonball to the face, sending it flying away from Hekapoo. When she heard a loud clang, her eyes shot open, expecting the robot to still be there, but saw only a brown blur on the right side of her peripheral vision.

She turned her gaze to her left, and saw Marco behind a large, black cannon, with smoke coming out of its end, with a pile of weapons beside him.

"You okay?" He yelled out, getting a nod in response. His eyes darted from her towards the robot, and widened at the sight of the recovering robot. He turned to the pile of weapons and rummaged around it. After a moment, he managed to pull out a huge hammer and a mace. With a yell of her name, he tossed the hammer in her direction with all the strength he could. Thankfully, it was able to reach her just in time for her to parry the incoming fist above her.

She swung at the robot again, but the robot managed to block the hammer. She tried again, this time landing a hit on its heavily dented chest and sending it flying back. Marco was now running up to Hekapoo's side, his hands gripping the mace tightly. They watched the robot slowly get up, sparks flying everywhere from its body and one of its eyes flickering. Once the robot pushed itself off the ground, Hekapoo and the robot glared at each other, while Marco had fear all over his face.

After some more intense glaring, the robot made the first move and charged towards the two. Hekapoo let out a roar, and charged towards the robot, with Marco hesitantly following behind her. They all teared through the air between them - 66% of them having looks of murderous intent.

Once they met in the middle, Hekapoo and the robot swung at each other, fist and hammer clashing together. Hekapoo's swing was stronger however, making the robot's fist fly back from the force. Marco took the chance and swung his mace at the robot's feet, hoping to trip it, but instead just denting it. The robot tried to swing at the boy, but its fist was parried by Hekapoo's hammer. Marco swung his mace again, this time striking the robot on the side of its spherical body, making it stumble a bit. It didn't have time to even lift its fist up as Hekapoo jumped up and gave a massive uppercut, making sparks fly everywhere as the robot stumbled backwards. The fight was now in the two's favor, as they continued to hit the robot in multiple places. Dents were created and worsened, and the air was continously being filled with sparks.

It continued on for a while, which only angered the robot further. It waited until the perfect time to strike, a time where both of the intruders were vulnerable. Once it saw that the two were about to swing at the same time, that was when it made its move. Marco and Hekapoo lifted their weapons up to swing at the robot, but their eyes widened when the robot caught them with both hands, and just like Hekapoo, the two disarmed intruders were thrown into the air, and crashed hard into a shelf.

The robot crushed the weapons between its hands into a tangled heap of metal, and slowly made its way to the two with a menacing walk. Hekapoo and Marco groaned in pain, rubbing their heads to try to sooth the raging throbbing. A foot stomped on the ground in front of them, and they looked to see the pair of glowing, flickering red eyes of the robot. It lifted its fists up above its head one last time to crush the two intruders. Seeing how they aren't getting away this time, Hekapoo and Marco held onto each other tightly, bracing for their inevita-

"WHAT IN THE FLIP-FABBER IS GOING ON HERE?!" An old, angry voice boomed. Everyone - even the robot - turned to the source, a gray-furred sloth with a bushy mustache, clad in a gray janitor's outfit. His fists were on his hips, one holding a broom. Saying he was angry would be understatement; his glare was practically piercing the robot. When the robot found out who the voice belonged to, it immediately recoiled its fists, placing them behind his spherical body.

The sloth's gaze jumped between the robot and the two - who were still holding onto each other - until finally, he sighed in disappointment, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He walked over to the robot, his grip tight on his broom. No one moved, even the robot, who seemed to be shaking from fear.

When the sloth reached the feet of the robot, his glare was powerful enough to cause a nuclear blast. "SecuriBot, you tell me right now what's going on right now, or I swear on my great-grandfather's grave you'll be getting a whoopin'!" He said in a southern accent.

That robot didn't respond, instead it tapped its index fingers together, looking to the side in embarrassment. The sloth sighed again. "Alright, come on, get outta here! Get! Get!" He said as he hit the robot with his broom. The robot looked down sadly, and walked into a nearby isle, the metallic clanging of its feet getting softer every second.

The sloth continued to glare at the direction of the robot. Once it was gone, he turned back to the two. "Sorry about that you two. I still got some kinks to work on SecuriBot. Are you two alright?" The sloth said.

Neither of the two spoke. Instead, Marco's eyes rolled up, and he released his hold on Hekapoo and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

* * *

It was already dusk in Echo Creek when a portal opened up in the Diaz living room. Hekapoo and Marco emerged from it, with Marco clutching the back of his head and Hekapoo pushing a cart full of items.

"Remind me to never go shopping in Quest Buy near closing time." Marco said, groaning from the throbbing sensation in his head.

"Yeah, me too." Hekapoo replied, rubbing her sore back as she pushed the cart away, not caring if it would crash into something.

The two staggered over to the couch, and sat on it with a soft thump. Along with the pained expression came a look of disappointment on Marco's face. "Man, I can't believe I got scammed," He sighed, "And it was a super cool custom-made katana too."

"Yeah, that tends to happen in Quest Buy." She shrugged, "Oh well, at least your birthday will be a lot better than you expect it to be. Anyways," She got up from the couch and walked over to the stairs, "I'm gonna go take a shower."

"Yeah, good night." He waved a hand at Hekapoo, but when the last part registered in his brain, he furrowed his eyebrows. "Whoa whoa wait," He turned to Hekapoo, "What do you mean my birthday will be better?"

"You figure that out, dude." She said, her smirk hidden by the ceiling as she continued her climb up the stairs.

Marco got up from the couch and chased after Hekapoo, "Hekapoo? What do you mean my birthday will be better? Hekapoo? Hekapoo!"


	6. Jungle of Guaranteed Pain

A/N: Oof, 8k words. That's a new record.

Sorry if this took a while. Had a bunch of school stuff happening like clubs and exams which took a lot of my time away. But hey! I technically got this out before the end of the month, so yay!

Anyway, enjoy this really long chapter.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 6: Jungle of Guaranteed Pain

* * *

It was another beautiful weekend morning in Echo Creek. The sun was a small distance above the horizon, painting the sky a warm yellow. Birds chirped and sung their morning songs, and squirrels awoke from their slumber, and ran out to look for breakfast. The streets of the neighborhood were still quite empty, with only a couple of joggers and dog-walkers.

"Welcome to The Morning Talk with me, Bill Chavez. Joining me this morning is none other than..." Angie Diaz was currently watching a talk show in the living room, holding a mug of warm coffee in her hands. Her long, puffy, auburn hair was tied together in a dark pink tie, resting on the back of her long sleeve orange shirt. She occasionally sipped on her coffee as she watched the show, resting the mug on her olive skirt in between sips.

"...do we really have to go for ice cream now?" She heard a voice say from her side. Turning to the right, she saw her son Marco and their "exchange student" Hekapoo walking down the stairs, both clad in their usual attire. From what she could see, they seemed to be discussing something, with Marco looking a little groggy and irritated.

Hekapoo pouted, "Aw, come on, Marco. You promised you would buy me ice cream today."

The boy sighed, "Alright, fine, we'll go for ice cream."

The two continued to walk down the stairs, with Hekapoo putting on an uncharacteristically cheerful smile. Once they stepped into the living room, Marco turned to his mom, "Hey, mom. Hekapoo and I are going out for ice cream, we'll be back in a few minutes."

Angie smiled at the two, "Sure thing. You two have fun, okay?"

Her son returned the smile. "Sure thing, mom. Come on, Hekapoo." He beckoned the demon to follow. They made their way to the front door, and headed out, a click emanating after a moment.

Angie kept her smile as she turned back to the TV. It has been around a month or two since Hekapoo had started living on Earth. When she first arrived, Angie thought her son and the demon would have a hard time bonding, considering Hekapoo's alcohol addiction and Marco's slight anxiety whenever he's near any attractive girl.

But now, they look like the best of friends, which honestly surprised Angie. Just the whole scene that happened a few moments ago made it seem like they knew each other for a lot longer than a few months.

She was honestly glad, glad that her son had made a new friend instead of just ogling over Jackie and not take action or trying to avoid Janna as much as possible.

Angie sipped some more coffee as she continued to watch the morning show. A few minutes later, Rafael walked into the living room from upstairs, holding a canvas in one hand and a bucket full of painting tools in the other. His dark brown hair and purple beret bobbed up and down as he happily skipped his way through the room, a mustachioed smile on his face. His yellow shirt and dark gray pants were covering his tan, muscular body, and had a few splotches of paint on them.

Angie paid no attention to him, leaving him be as she continued to watch the show, which was now on a cooking segment. Rafael continued on his happy skip through the room, until he stepped on something metal.

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow, and looked down. The painter raised his foot up, and saw a pair of black, macabre-styled dimensional scissors. He set his bucket and canvas down on the floor and picked up the scissors, bringing them up to his face to inspect them.

After seconds of scrutinizing, he brought the scissors back down, "These must be Hekapoo's."

Angie tore her attention away from the TV, and noticed the pair of scissors on her husband's hands. She set her mug down and walked over to him, eyeing the scissors curiously, "Huh, she must've dropped them on their way out."

"Do they actually work?" Rafael asked.

His wife shrugged, "I don't know. I've never seen them use it before."

"Hmm..." He hummed, cupping his chin in thought as he kept inspecting the pair of scissors. He toyed with them for a bit, slightly snipping the air and running a finger on the edge of the blades.

Moments later, an idea came to his mind. He proceeded to crouch down, causing an eyebrow raise from Angie. With reluctance, he stabbed the air in front of his feet, resulting in the ends of the scissors disappearing into thin air, with a white glow surrounding the blades.

They stared wide-eyed at the pair of scissors. Cautiously, Rafael brought the scissors upward, snipping the air as he did so. A trail of white followed the scissors, and when Rafael retracted them, the white trail diverged and created a green, swirling portal that hummed softly.

"Whoa, it's so... green..." The painter cooed, his brown eyes dilated.

"So this is what portals look like... so swirly..." Angie cooed as well, her eyes imitating her husband's. Unconsciously, she reached a hand towards the mesmerizing portal, a tingling sensation spreading through her hand as it got closer.

Suddenly, she felt something wet wrap around her wrist tightly. Angie snapped out of her daze as she felt something slither up her arm and tug on it. She looked down, and saw a long vine covered in a green liquid that nearly covered her arm. She gasped, and tried to pull away. But she was too weak, and she was quickly pulled into the portal, her screams stopping once she was on the other side.

After hearing her scream, Rafael shook his head, snapping out of his own daze. "Angie!" He swiftly reached out a hand to her, but his hand met the same fate as her wife's as another vine emerged from the portal and quickly wrapped around his wrist. He gasped and tried to pull away as well, but the vine was just too strong and durable for him, and he was pulled into the portal after his wife.

The house was left empty once again, with the sounds of a talk show still coming out of the TV, and the chirps of the birds filling the morning air like nothing horrible happened.

* * *

"Seriously, why is this so good?!" Hekapoo said, her voice muffled from the ice cream in her mouth. The two were already walking home from the ice cream shop. Marco licked on some soft served chocolate ice cream, while Hekapoo hogged on two cones of vanilla and strawberry, the strawberry one halfway done.

Marco chuckled, and pointed to Hekapoo's lips, "You got a little something there."

The demon lifted an eyebrow, "Hm?"

"Right..." Marco reached out a finger to her lips, and swiped a splotch of strawberry off of them "...there."

"Oh, um..." Hekapoo looked to the side, "Thanks... I guess...?" She lamely said, not knowing how to properly respond. So she just went back to eating her ice cream, a very tiny hint of redness on her face.

The boy shook his head, a smirk creeping up his face, "Come on, let's hurry back to the house."

The demon nodded, and the two quickened their pace. They passed by numerous suburban homes, waving at fellow neighbors they saw. Five minutes of walking passed, and the two made it to the front door of Marco's house, their cones already consumed.

Marco turned the door knob, and casually walked in. "Hey guys, we're ba-" He stopped when his eyes caught sight of a green, swirling portal that floated right by the couch, with dark green stains right on the carpet underneath it.

His eyebrows knitted together, trying to make sense of the scene. "Mom? Dad?" He yelled. When no response came, he started searching around the house, starting with the kitchen, then went upstairs after finding that room empty.

Meanwhile, Hekapoo cautiously approached the portal. Being the one who used to watched portal activity, she already knew where the portal lead to.

Which meant she already knew that what was on the other side was nothing but bad.

Once she was a foot away from the portal, she noticed something laying on the stained carpet. It was her and Marco's scissors. The demon picked it up, and noticed the green liquid dripping off the blades. She slowly swiped a drop of it with her finger and inspected it. When she sniffed it, the smell seemed familiar to her.

It smelled... viney...

Steps coming from the stairs caught her attention, and she turned to them to see a distressed and worried Marco walking down. "They're not upstairs, they're not in the kitchen, they're not anywhere. They're gone!"

Hekapoo turned back to the portal, "I... think I know where they could be."

"You do?"

"Mhm. From what I can see, your parents somehow got hold of our scissors and opened a portal to the Jungle of Guaranteed Pain..." She looked down to the liquid between her fingers, "...and got pulled in by a Vine Spider."

"Um... w-what's the Jungle of Guaranteed Pain?" Marco asked in a shaky voice.

"One of the most dangerous dimensions out there, right next to the Valley of the Frost. It's home to some really dangerous monsters, like the Vine Spider. Only a few people make it out alive, and even fewer make it out unscathed."

She turned to Marco, "Your parents are in there, most likely encased in a pod by a Vine Spider. If we're gonna save them, we're gonna have to be quick, otherwise they'll be dead. So, are you coming with me or are you gonna sit this one out?"

The boy snapped his gaze between the portal and the demon, sweat dripping down his forehead. His gaze settled on Hekapoo, and somehow, just looking at her brave and hardened face calmed him down.

He gulped down a lump that formed in his throat, and took a nice, deep breath, "Okay, let's go."

A smirk crept up Hekapoo's face. She turned around to face the portal, then glanced back one more time at Marco, "Stay close."

* * *

When they stepped through the portal, their noses were immediately hit by the smell of mud and dew. The color green filled their surroundings, with tall mahogany trees as far as the eye could see. Various colorful and exotic plants of many sizes rested among bushes and nearby trees, with native insects dancing around them. The canopy floated high above the two, its leaves letting only a few rays of light hit the muddy ground.

Marco couldn't help but gape at everything, never having seen such beautiful species of plants before. But his gaping stopped when he heard a distant and horrible screech coming from behind him. It sounded like a mix of both a screaming pig and a screaming five year-old.

Hekapoo turned to the direction of the horrific sound, and noticed a trail of the green liquid from before leading into the dense jungle.

She pointed to it, "That trail will lead us to the Vine Spider. Stay close and stay alert."

Marco nodded, and they began following the trail. They traversed through the thick green as the demon hacked away at intruding plants with their scissors. Meanwhile, Marco resumed his awestruck gazing of the multiple plants around them. His mouth was gaped so widely, he could fit his whole fist in there.

* _Snap_ *

The two stopped in their place. They swore they heard a stick snapping somewhere. Hekapoo snapped her head around, trying to make out any changes in the environment around them. The distant chirping of native birds and crickets filled the atmosphere as they stood silent.

When a minute of nothing passed, the two slowly lowered their guard, but still searched around for any suspicious activity.

Hekapoo sighed, "Must've been a bird or so-"

Suddenly, a wooden spear whizzed past the trees and landed right in front of them. They both yelped and quickly stepped backwards. Hekapoo swiftly snapped a fireball to life, and resumed her frantic searching. She looked to the left, then to the right, but saw nothing that stood out from the green.

Another spear was shot at them, this time nearly grazing Marco's back. He yelped and bumped into Hekapoo's back with a grunt, his heart racing a mile a minute. The demon desperately tried to spot any figures. She couldn't blindly throw a fireball in a random direction, considering they were in a jungle were almost everything is flammable.

She squinted her eyes at the trees. The canopy above blocked off most of the sunlight, darkening the jungle by a lot, which didn't really help them in that case. But somehow, probably due to sheer luck, she was able to spot just the slightest of movement by their left.

The mysterious creature seemed humanoid, and looked to be taller than them. But that was all she could make out before it vanished behind a tree. It didn't take long for two more spears to be shot at them, both landing by their sides. It's a fricking miracle they weren't hit yet.

Then, just a beat after those spears were thrown, a distant battle cry echoed through the jungle. It seemed to be coming from above within the canopy. They searched the leafy roof above them, try to spot any incoming attacks.

Their efforts were useless, though, as a figure behind them emerged from the canopy, swinging down from a vine fast. They let out another battle cry, which brought the duo's attention to them. Hekapoo was about to thrown her fireball at them, but she was too late, as they were both met with a forceful kick to the stomach.

They grunted and flew back from the force, crashing onto the muddy ground. They groaned and clutched at their stomachs, the pain worsening every second.

A few squishy thuds emanated from in front of them. Marco was the first one to sit up straight and catch sight of the figures in front of them, his eyes shaking from fear.

The figures matched the one Hekapoo saw, with their tall, humanoid statures. Their skin weren't made up of skin at all, but instead were made of dark green moss, with a few flowers and vines growing on them. Their most notable features were their masks, which were made out of mahogany painted white, with two completely black eye holes, and numerous tribal symbols painted on them with an almost fluorescent green.

They all brandished their spears at the two. "Ikwa Ta!" One of them shouted. On cue, numerous other masked figures stepped out from the trees, all holding spears as well. They quickly circled the downed duo and aimed their spears at them as well.

"Who the heck are you guys?" Hekapoo panted.

No response came. The demon tried to speak up again, but she was immediately cut off when one of them shouted, "Wa!"

All the others followed the yell, raising their mossy fists up. The figure closest to them raised their spear high up, its sharp flint tip looking ready to pierce the duo.

But Hekapoo was having none of that.

She quickly summoned fire around her fist, and punched the masked figure straight in the gut. They flew back from the punch, right above the others. The flames seemed to have set the figure on fire, as he was quickly burned to ashes mid-flight. The others watched as their friend disappear into nothing, then snapped back to the duo, anger rising up inside them.

They all raised their spears at them, but Hekapoo was quick enough to fireball the ones in front of them, creating an opening for them to escape. She pulled Marco up by his hoodie and began running for it. The masked figures turned towards the escaping duo, then all let out battle cries before chasing after them.

Hekapoo and Marco sprinted through the thick jungle, swatting and hacking plants in their way. Marco's legs burned as he ran away from their pursuers. He took a glance back, and caught sight of numerous faded figures coming at them at full speed, all shouting curses at them in their tribal language. He gasped, and began quickening his already fast pace.

The two jumped over logs and ditches, and ducked under protruding branches, all while dodging spears. They ran into an impenetrable wall of trees that blocked their way, but Marco was able to spot a path to their left. They drifted around the corner and continued their escape. As they ran through the new-found path, Hekapoo couldn't help but feel like they were running into some kind of trap. But she shook the feeling off, and focused on running.

They made to a field void of trees or plants. The ground was covered in tall grass, a sharp contrast to the muddy ground the two were running on. The two made to sprint through the field, but they skidded to a halt when one of the masked figures landed in front of them and brandished their spear.

"Naka Tum W- huh?" The grass beneath the masked figure's feet started to sway and shake. Suddenly, two leafy flaps, with multiple needle-like teeth covering the inner side, emerged from both of their sides, and crushed the figure, encasing them in a leafy pod.

The two gasped and stepped back as the plant started gulping the masked figure into the ground. Hekapoo glanced around the area, and noticed other similarly looking leaves resting flat on the ground.

She cursed under her breath, "Of course we would run into a Venus Deathtrap field."

"Venus Deathtrap field?!" Marco exclaimed.

Sounds of rustling leaves and yells brought their attention behind them. Hekapoo desperately tried to find another way out without having to go through the field itself.

But she couldn't.

It wasn't long until spears were being shot at them again. The demon cursed for a second time and grabbed Marco by his arm. They sprinted through the deadly field as fast as they could, much to Marco's aching feet. Deathtraps were being triggered all over the place, either by stray spears or the duo's feet.

The two reached a small grassy hill that overlooked a ditch full of Deathtraps. They quickened their sprint, getting ready to jump. Once they made it to the top, Hekapoo signaled themselves for a jump. They shoved their feet off the hill, and began soaring through the air, with Marco screaming as they did so. Spears were thrown at the flying duo, but they all missed and began falling into the ditch, triggering a bunch of Deathtraps.

The two safely landed and rolled on the other side. Hekapoo didn't waste any time in continuing their escape. She got up and pulled Marco up by his hoodie again, and began running through the jungle once more.

Eventually, they made it out of the field and into a clearing, this one being void of deadly carnivorous plants. The duo skidded to a stop and took a breather, bending over with their hands on their knees. It seemed that they lost their pursuers, considering the atmosphere was filled by the peaceful chirps of birds and crickets.

"I think... we lost them... oh man!" Marco panted.

"Yeah... thank multiverse for that ditch..."

But, their little break had to end eventually. The ground beneath started to shake and rumble. Loose rocks bounced up and down from the vibrations, and the leaves of the trees started to sway and shake intensely.

The duo wobbled as they tried to keep upright. "What the heck is happening?!" Marco yelled through the rumbles.

His question was immediately answered when a giant worm-like creature burst from beneath the ground right next to them. Its stained white body easily towered all over the trees. Dark green slime covered its body, huge drops of it raining everywhere.

"Oh come on!" Hekapoo yelled, raising her arms up, "Guaranteenian Digger Worm?! Really?! Give us a break, jungle, jeez!"

The worm soared high up into the air, the flipped around and began making its way down onto the two. Its hole for a mouth was large enough to fit three elephants. Sharp, dagger-like teeth covered the majority of its mouth, with numerous substances staining them, some Marco probably didn't want know the origin of.

"Oh, jeez!" Marco quickly pulled Hekapoo out of the worm's way. The giant creature crashed into the ground, completely missing the two, but as soon as it did, it began digging its way into the ground, spinning and wiggling its body.

The two began sprinting out of the clearing and into the jungle, being chased once again. They swerved past trees, and violently swatted vines out of their way. The ground started shaking intensely again. Marco gave a glance behind him, and was immediately met by the scene of the worm emerging from the ground and soaring high into the air, with trees and mud flying everywhere, then coming back down for them.

He gasped, and began sprinting faster, somehow running past Hekapoo. Thankfully, the worm missed them again, and began digging into the ground once more.

The chase went on like that for a while, with the duo running through the jungle and the worm occasionally bursting out of the ground and missing them. Soon enough, the duo made it to another clearing. At least that was what they thought it was, since a thick treeline circled the area, blocking off any clear sight of it.

Thankfully, it wasn't thick enough to completely block off passage. Once they reached it, they hastily weaved through the trees as the worm behind them began getting closer.

However, when they got through the wall of trees, they realized they made a terrible mistake. There was no clearing, instead there was a massive hole in front of them that looked like it reached several miles down.

Thankfully, Marco caught sight of it in time, and skidded to a stop, his feet just inches away from the edge. But Hekapoo wasn't so lucky. She was moving too fast to stop in time. The demon tried to plant her feet on the ground, but her efforts proved useless, and she began her descent down the hole.

Hekapoo closed her eyes shut as she waited for her inevitable death, but found that she stopped falling. She felt something wrapped around one of her wrists tightly. The demon looked up, and saw Marco holding onto her arm with both of his.

"Come on, come on!" He said through gritted teeth. The boy tried his best to pull Hekapoo up. But his weak strength was beginning to backfire on him, as his arms and legs started to ache and shake, and her arms started to slip. He mustered all the strength he could to hold on, but his legs just couldn't endure Hekapoo's weight.

Eventually, they gave in, and caused the two to fall into the hole.

* * *

Screams filled the atmosphere around as they fell fast. The circle of light above them shrunk as fast as they descended, until it was nothing but a small speck of white.

It felt like an eternity since the beginning of their descent, even though it could've only been a few seconds. The hole was pitch black; nothing but darkness. Marco tried to spot Hekapoo, squinting his eyes at the darkness around him, but ultimately failed.

Fortunately, after what felt like a minute, he could see a small speck of green, fluorescent light at the bottom. It was bright enough to land on Marco's falling body, and therefore Hekapoo's, who was falling right by him.

The light got bigger and bigger as they continued to fall. Eventually, they could make out a small lake of green liquid at the bottom, surrounded by a bunch of smaller green lights.

They splashed into the lake hard, water bursting out like a volcano as they hit it. The liquid stung their skin; it felt being surrounded by fire for a split-second. Ripples and waves covered the surface for a while, until it finally calmed down and went back to its usual smooth surface, in which Marco swam up and surfaced, gasping in as much air as he could, followed by Hekapoo.

The two quickly swam to the edge of the lake and got on land, their wet clothes slowing them down a bit. Marco coughed out some water that he unfortunately breathed in, while Hekapoo dried her hair out as the flame on her head slowly coming back to life.

After pounding his chest and getting the last of the water out of his lungs, the boy got up and glanced around. They were in cave, that's for sure. The walls were jagged and non-uniform like a cave, and were covered in vines and moss. Multiple bulb-like plants dotted around lit up the area in a fluorescent green light. And finally, a long, wide tunnel laid in front of the boy, with an even brighter green light at the end.

After most of the water was twisted out of her hair, Hekapoo stood up and walked up to the boy's side. She took in her surroundings as well, noticing the absurd amount of vines everywhere. No cave would have this many vines climbing up the walls, even one in the Jungle of Guaranteed Pain.

The demon looked down on the ground, and noticed a dark pink hair tie right in between two thick vines. She knew only one person who wore one, which would mean...

"Marco, I think were in the Vine Spider's lair," Hekapoo said. She picked the hair tie up then pointed to the end of the tunnel, "Which means your parents are in there with the thing."

The boy gulped as he stared down the tunnel. Of course they would fall into its lair right after being chased by a giant worm and a tribe of moss people. He let out a deep, calming breath, "Alright, let's go."

The demon nodded, and the duo started making their way down the tunnel. Silence filled the tunnel as they traversed the long, somehow creepy tunnel. It seemed like the farther they walked, the more viney the tunnel got. Unlike back at the lake, the walls were practically made out of vines instead of just being covered on them. The amount of glowing bulb plants started to decrease as well, but somehow that tunnel was still being lit up, probably even brighter before. It looked like the vines themselves were the ones providing light.

Soon enough, they reached the end of the tunnel, and quickly hid behind a boulder. It lead to large, dome-shaped cave, with the walls certainly being made out of glowing vines. What contributed to the creepy factor of the area were the multiple vine pods dotting the walls. Some were squirming around, seemingly trying to escape, but it would be useless since the pods were being held up by thick, durable vines.

Marco scanned the walls that he could see for any signs of his parents. It took a while, but eventually, he spotted two pods perched high up the wall opposite of the tunnel. Puffy, auburn hair and dark brown hair were sticking out of them, which Marco instantly recognized as his parent's.

He gasped. The boy was about to get up and run in, but he was pulled back in place by Hekapoo, who pointed to the middle of the room. Sleeping right there was the Vine Spider itself. It was enormous, probably about the size of two elephants stacked on top of each other. Staying true to its name, vines covered and wrapped around the spider's body, leaving only its face and mouth exposed. Its legs were long and menacing, and looked like it could crush a truck.

"We have to be quiet." Hekapoo whispered, placing a finger over her mouth. Marco nodded, and the two got up from their positions and cautiously made their way into the lair.

They moved along the vine-ridden walls as they tried their best not to wake the spider u-

* _Snap_ *

The two froze and held their breaths. The two glanced down, and saw two pieces of a stick right beneath Marco's feet. They glanced back up at the spider, their hearts reaching one thousand beats per second. Thankfully, the noise only caused a light gasp from the spider, who shifted around a bit before falling back to sleep.

The pair sighed, and continued on shimmying against the wall, being careful not to step on any more sticks. Fortunately, no more interruptions stopped them, and they made it right beneath the pods.

The duo turned around and faced the wall. They jumped up and grabbed the vines as quietly as they could, glancing back to the spider for any signs of waking up. When they saw no movements, they continued on making their way up.

The vines were wet from the green liquid, which made it hard for two to get a good grip on some of them. But they endured, and soon enough, they made it to the pods.

The captured parents squirmed about, yelling into the smaller vines that covered their faces. They grabbed hold of their gags and ripped them off, revealing Angie and Rafael's faces.

The two parents gasped, and immediately snapped their heads towards the other two with shaky eyes. But when they saw the familiar and calming faces of the duo, their faces lit up, "Marco! Heka-"

They immediately slapped their hands over their mouths, then pointed down at the spider. The parents' eyes widened as they caught sight of the sleeping spider.

They turned back to the duo. Hekapoo whispered, "Don't worry, we'll get you guys outta here. Marco, here."

The demon passed the scissors to Marco, being careful not to let it fall. Once he got hold of them, the boy quickly went to work on Angie's pod, using the scissors to slice through it. Meanwhile, Hekapoo conjured a small flame on her fingertip, and started burning the vines off of Rafael like a blowtorch.

Marco cut through the pod fast, already halfway through it. He wanted to break parents out and get out of there as quick as possible. But unfortunately, he was a little too fast, and the scissors slipped from his slippery hands, and started its way down to the spider.

They all gasped. Marco frantically shot his arms at the falling tool to try to catch it, but it was already out of arm's reach. But thankfully, thanks to his extensive karate training, he was fast enough to be able to block the scissor's path with his foot. The scissors first bounced lightly up his shoe, before finally landing and settling on its surface.

The group was frozen solid, sweat slithering down their foreheads. Marco tried to keep his breath steady as he carefully lifted his foot up. He slowly bent down and reached a hand out to the tool. His whole body was practically shaking at this point, as any moment now, Marco could screw up and drop the scissors, awakening the hellish creature below.

His hand got nearer, and nearer, and nearer, until...

He screwed up.

The shakiness of his body was too much for the scissors, and it fell off his shoe, starting its deadly descent once more.

"No!" Marco made one last desperate attempt to shoot his arm out and catch them, but he was too late.

The scissors tore through the air fast, before finally hitting the sleeping spider on its head with a thud, then bounced off of it and landed on the ground.

The spider's head shot up immediately. It searched around its lair, before finally looking up and spotting the group. With angry eyes, the spider quickly got up to its feet and screeched at them. The group shot their hands over their ears, trying desperately to block out the horrendous sound.

It took no time at all for the spider to approach and start climbing up the wall. The spikes in its feet pierced the viney walls as it made its way up. The group gasped. Marco and Hekapoo turned back and frantically worked on the pods, with Hekapoo karate chopping the vines off with her flame hand, and Marco ripping them off with all the strength his tired body could muster.

Once the vines were all ripped off, the two quickly grabbed onto the parents' arms to stop their fall. They all took a glance down, and saw the spider fast approaching. Seeing no other way to escape, Hekapoo and Marco looked to each other and nodded, one of them knowing what the other was thinking.

Hekapoo turned to the parents, "Alright, on the count of three, we're gonna drop down on the spider's head. Ready? One, two, three!"

The duo let go of the wall, and they all started falling, aiming the sole of their feet to the spider's head. The arthropod's eyes widened, before its face was kicked by four pairs of feet. It screeched in pain, and lost its grip onto the wall. The spider fell down along with the group, and crashed to the ground hard.

The group rolled off the spider's head and landed safely on the ground. They all turned back to the recovering spider, with Hekapoo and Marco assuming fighting stances.

The demon glanced back to the parents behind her, "You guys have to get out of here! Take the tunnel!"

"But what about you guys?" Rafael asked.

"We'll take care of the spider! We'll be fine! Now go!" The parents nodded, and started sprinting to and down the tunnel, safe away from the incoming fight.

Hekapoo turned back to the spider, who had now recovered from its stupor. Its eyes shot daggers at the duo, who both stood their ground. With a loud screech, two thick vines shot out from its skin and raced towards the two.

They both managed dodge rolled out of the way, making the vines miss and hit the ground instead. Hekapoo slid to a stop and conjured a fireball in her hand.

"Marco, keep the vines off me!" She yelled before sprinting towards the arthropod.

The boy nodded in response, and started flailing his arms above his head, trying to get the spider's attention, "Hey, spider! Over here!"

His distraction worked, as the spider turned its attention to the boy. The spider glared at the boy. Vines shot out from its skin and chased after Marco. The boy smirked, and began running away from Hekapoo's spot, luring the spider away from her.

While it was distracted, the demon threw a fireball at it. The ball of fire penetrated the layer of vine on the spider's body, leaving a nasty scorch mark. The spider screeched in pain, and brought its attention to the demon behind it. It lifted one of its spiky feet up and tried to squash her, but Hekapoo was fast enough to roll out of the way.

Then, a rock flew through the air and hit the spider in the head, which brought its attention back to Marco, who had bunch of rocks resting safely on his arm. The spider growled as more vines emerged from its body and shot at Marco again. The boy managed to dodge the incoming vines, and began running down a random direction, calling the arthropod numerous names as he did so.

Another fireball hit the back of the spider's head, causing another screech. It turned back to the demon once again. Like before, it lifted its leg to crush the demon, but its efforts were easily dodged, and its head was hit by another fireball.

Then, another rock hit its leg. Vines shot out once more at the boy, which all missed the swift boy.

Another fireball hit it.

And another rock.

And another fireball.

And another.

The spider started growling menacingly as it kept being toyed around. Fury rose up in its eyes, and looked like they could burst into flames any minute now.

The spider had enough.

After one last fireball hit it, the arthropod let out a horrible, drum-exploding shriek that shook the entire cave. Hekapoo and Marco stopped their attacks and desperately tried to cover their ears, their bodies cringing from such a horrible sound.

Numerous vines broke off the spider's body, and shot at both Hekapoo and Marco. The vines quickly wrapped around their bodies and lifted them up in the air. The duo yelped, and tried to free themselves, but their attempts caused the vines to wrap around them tighter. Once they were high up in the air, the spider began swinging them around. The duo's vision were nothing but blurs.

With one final swing, the spider threw them at a wall with the speed of a bullet. The two screamed as their backs crashed into the wall. They bounced off of it, and landed on the ground with loud thuds. The pair groaned and shook as they clutched their backs, tremendous amounts of pain coursing through their bodies. They tried to get up, but vines from the spider quickly latched onto their necks and pinned them to the wall.

Hekapoo and Marco struggled for air as they clawed onto the vines. Their faces were getting blue, and their visions were starting to get blurry. The spider glared furiously at the two. It began opening its mouth with a drawn out screech, ready to devour its prey.

"Narwhal Blast!" A voice suddenly yelled from afar. The spider turned around, and was instantly met by a barrage of narwhals. It screeched and stumbled, detaching itself from the two. They fell to the ground and coughed violently, clutching onto their sore necks.

A soft thud emanated in front of them, causing them to look up to (hopefully) their savior. A teenage girl with long, flowing, blonde hair stood in front of them. Spiked metal pads protected her shoulders, elbows, and knees, along with armor designed to look like a sundress covering the rest of her body. A helmet with little devil horns sat atop her head, and on both of her cheeks were skull marks that glared into whoever looked at them. Looking down, her hand held onto a pink wand tightly. It was made of a sphere that was attached to a tube, with a golden star encrusted on it and white wings sticking out of the sides.

"Star?!" Hekapoo yelled with a raspy voice, her shocked eyes staring at the blonde girl.

Star gasped, putting her hands over her mouth, "Hekapoo! Hi!"

A vine shot in between them, and they all turned to the spider, who was getting ready to charge the girl. Star quickly glanced back at the pair with an apologetic look, "Can you guys hold on for oooone sec? Thanks!"

Star let out a roar as she charged towards the spider. She jumped up high, and pointed her wand down to the arthropod. "Narwhal Blast!"

Another blast of narwhals shot out from her wand, and hit the spider in multiple places. It screeched and stumbled as narwhal horns struck its body. The spider turned back to the advancing teen, and lifted two of its leg up to squash her. The legs were quickly brought down, but Star rolled out of the way, making the legs hit the ground instead.

Star rolled back to her feet and aimed her wand at the spider. "Flaming Sugar Shower!" Burning sugar shot out from the wand and showered the spider. It burned and singed the spider's viney skin, leaving scorch marks and small flames everywhere.

Another pained screech was let out. Fury rose inside the spider as it glared daggers at the girl. The arthropod swiftly turned around, and began shooting vines at Star with its spinneret. The girl quickly flipped out of the way, and continued dodging incoming vines, doing cart wheels and back flips to do so.

After one last flip, she landed on her feet, and pointed her wand to the ground. "Rainbow Jump!" A pink explosion blasted her high up into the air, with her feet leaving trails of colorful rainbows. The spider tried to shoot the girl out of the air, but she was falling too fast. She landed on the spider's back perfectly, and began running up to its head, sidestepping the remaining flames on its body. The spider began vigorously shaking and flailing like a bull, trying to get the girl off its back.

Star was able to keep her balance as she made it to the spider's head unscathed. She held onto its viney skin tight, and pointed her wand to its head. The spider continued to shriek, the cave rumbling from its frantic flails.

Star took a deep breath, and yelled, "Incredibly Bright and Blinding Light of Ultimate Decimation!"

The wand lit up, and filled the cave with a bright light, along with another ear-piercing, albeit pained screech. Hekapoo and Marco looked away and covered their ears as the bright light enveloped their bodies.

Eventually, the screech stopped, and the light quickly disappeared, followed by a booming thud. The two lowered their arms and looked back to see a headless Vine Spider, smoke and small flames replacing its head. The duo stared in shock as Star jumped off the spider, and inspected her handiwork.

After a moment, she nodded and skipped her way back to the two, happily humming a tune. "Sorry about that. Spiders, pfft. Now, where were we? Oh right, Hekapoo!" She squealed, and picked the demon up with a tight hug.

Hekapoo awkwardly laughed and patted the girl on the back, "Yeah, it's nice to see you too, but can you... get off? You're kinda worsening my bruises here."

"Oh! Sorry." She detached herself from the demon and quickly gave her an apologetic smile.

Hekapoo smiled and shook her head, "Ah, Star, you never change. Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be magic training back at the castle with Glossaryck or something?"

"Oh, that's easy. Dad decided to take me on a little hunting trip to the Jungle of Guaranteed Pain," She rubbed the back of her neck, "Then we sorta got separated and I ended up here."

"Now!" Star raised a finger up, "The question I should be asking you is, what are YOU doing here? Weren't you suspended and sent to Earth? And who's that?" She pointed her wand towards Marco.

Hekapoo sighed, "Star, meet Marco, my housemate. Marco, meet Star, my former soon-to-be daughter-in-law."

Marco furrowed his eyebrows, "Whoa wait, you were a stepmother?"

"Yup, she was!" Star exclaimed, "Former stepmother to my boyfriend Tom, second sweetest demon in the entire multiverse. First being you!" She poked Hekapoo's nose.

The demon chuckled and waved Star's hand away, "Yeah, thanks. And as for your first question, me and Marco here sort of got ourselves a pair of scissors from a friend. Then, Marco's parents somehow got hold of our dimensional scissors, opened a portal to here, and got pulled in by that Vine Spider."

"Speaking of which," Hekapoo turned to the tunnel, "Hey, guys! You can come out now!"

No response came. Hekapoo raised an eyebrow, and called out again, "Hey, guys! It's over! It's safe to come out!"

Again, no response. Marco started to worry a bit as he stared down the tunnel. Fortunately, he could hear something emanating from the tunnel, confirming that his parents were still there.

Wait, is that... giggling?

Marco groaned exasperatedly, "Oh come on, you two! Do you really have to do that stuff here of all places?! You couldn't wait until we got home?! Gosh!"

* * *

After finding his parents and their scissors, the group - including Star - ripped open a portal back to Marco's house. It was nearing mid-afternoon when they arrived, the bright sun shining down on the neighborhood like it was still noon. They all stepped into the living room, dirty, wet, and tired.

"Thanks again for saving us, Star." Angie said.

The blonde girl blew out a raspberry, "No need to thank me, Mrs. Diaz."

"Well, if you all don't mind, I'm gonna take a shower. Care to join me, mi ángel?" Rafael offered a hand to Angie, who took it with a giggle.

"I like it when you go all native on me." She giggled again, before the two went upstairs, whispering to each other as they did so.

Marco groaned, "Mom! Dad! You know there are like two girls here!"

Star and Hekapoo laughed as Marco flushed from embarrassment. The blonde girl wiped a tear away then spoke up, "Well, that was fun, but I better go find my dad before he tries to eat his leg again. Take care, you two."

The blonde girl started walking back to portal, waving as she did so, but immediately turned back around at the last second. "Oh, and Marco," She grabbed Marco by his hoodie and pulled him close, then whispered to his ear, "A little tip for you. Her favorite restaurant is Kryztik's, 13th layer of the Underworld. Really great food, don't forget it."

"Wait, what?" He backed away turned to face Star, his eyebrows furrowed and his face a bit more red than before.

The blonde girl just pointed two finger guns at him, clicking her mouth. She chuckled and waved goodbye to the two before walking through the portal.

Marco stared at the empty spot where the portal, his cheeks getting redder as he replayed her words.

"What?"

* * *

A/N: So yeah, Star's a thing in this, and she'll be playing a sorta huge part in this later on.

And yes, the Jungle of Guaranteed Pain is my version of the Forest of Certain Death. The name is longer, and the monsters are probably a lot more dangerous.

Anyway, next chapter would be Brittney's Party, renamed to Party Crashers. No, Brittney won't be in this. Instead, I'll be giving the spotlight to a certain underused character; give her a little bit of the birthday treatment, you know? ry to guess who.

Hope you enjoyed. Please tell me any mistakes I made, please.

Until the next chapter.

2057143


	7. Party Crashers

A/N: I should really stop making really long chapters. Yup, another record; frickin' 10.2k words, it's why this chapter took so long.

You know what? Here's a game! Let's see which chapter I'll most likely hit 100k words. I'm going for Ch 13, what will you go for?

Also, one last thing, is there suggest stuff for the site? I really hope they would status updates on profiles. It could help with keeping readers updated and stuff.

Now, enough stalling, here it is, my longest chapter to date.

* * *

Hekapoo Vs. The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 7: Party Crashers

* * *

Friday had just hit Echo Creek, which meant only one more day of boring history lectures before the weekend. The mid-morning sun was making its ascent to the top of the sky, slowly blanketing the earth in its young, golden rays. Rush hour had already ended, reverting the streets from its busy, noisy state back to its usual calm and quietness.

Hekapoo and Marco were sitting down in front of Miss Skullnick's bored and sleepy class. The teacher was sitting at her desk, too busy filing her nails to care about the class in front of her. Marco scribbled down on his notebook, occasionally glancing up to the ceiling when he was trying to remember something from the previous lecture. Hekapoo, meanwhile, was like everyone else - bored out of her fricking mind. Her head was propped up on her hand as she lazily twirled a pencil in her hand.

Their attention was torn away from their activities when a girl behind Hekapoo stood up from her desk, holding a stack of yellow papers in her arms. She wore a plain yellow shirt with poorly painted orange triangles on the bottom half of it. An orange knee-length skirt fell down to her red knee-length boots, which was poorly stitched to her shirt, making her outfit look like a sundress made by a nine year-old. Red square-rimmed glasses rested on her soft nose, and on top of her brown hair was a headband with two yellow horns glued onto it.

"What is she doing?" Marco asked.

The duo knew who the girl was. HekapooFan16, as she liked to be called, was... weird. As told by her name, she was a fan of Hekapoo. Actually, no, she was a HUGE fan, to the point where you could consider her as a stalker. She had pictures of her in her locker, in her textbooks, and even kept one on her at all times.

Hekapoo only knew about her through the "Official Echo Creek Academy Hekapoo Fan Club" she made once, which didn't work out too well, since no one else is as fanatical and crazy enough as her. A few more "incidents" happened after that. Like that one time the fan rigged the school's voting system, causing Hekapoo to win class presidency by a massive landslide. She wasn't even nominated!

Or that one time when she carved out fourteen feet statue of her right next to Otis, which took her three days and a whole lot of caffeine. She got in trouble for it, of course, and was forced to take it down days later.

The fan was insanely obsessed, to the point where it got worrying, and even annoying. The demon tried all she could to get her fan to just stop, but she was too stubborn. She just kept going with the random spurts of fanaticalness.

Then, one day, she just willingly stopped. The duo didn't know why, but she just did. The fan even began acting like a normal human being too. She had conversations that didn't Hekapoo's name all over it (although it seemed the people she was conversing with were still weirded out by her), and even walked past the demon without going absolutely bat-poop crazy.

Thanks to that, Hekapoo and Marco had (somehow) been on friendly terms with her, occasionally hanging out after school at the mall and sitting together at lunch. The boy still considered her as weird, and was cautious around her every time they hung out.

Hekapoo, however, took in her new found friendship with a more open mind. Although she has been weird in the past (she may still be, who knows), the demon treated her fairly - like an actual friend - instead of some creepy stalker that follows her around.

The fan walked over to the teacher-turned-troll, hugging the stack of papers tightly. Once she approached Skullnick's desk, she cleared her throat to grab her attention. Skullnick tore her attention away from her nails and turned to her, raising her eyebrow. The fan began whispering something to her. Although they sat in front, Marco and Hekapoo couldn't hear anything; all they could hear were the S's, but even those were quiet as a mouse.

Soon enough, the incomprehensible conversation ended with a dismissive hand from the teacher. HekapooFan16 then turned to the whole class, and cleared her throat loudly.

"Uh, hello everyone. I'm just here to say that it's my birthday today!" She said cheerfully, although the duo could make out a hint of shyness and uncertainty in her voice.

"It would be really nice if you could all come." She walked over to Hekapoo's desk, and handed her an invitation from the stack, "Especially you, Hekapoo."

When the fan went over to Marco to hand him one, she looked down to her invitation. It seemed like her fan was still a fan of her, as the invitation was covered in custom-made stickers and drawings of the demon. The letters were even written in a way that looked like the runic language Hekapoo uses.

"HekapooFan16's Hekapootastic Birthday Party! Daffodil Street, 8 PM. Don't be late!" It read, ending with a huge smiley face.

Beside her, Marco was looking at his invitation. He rolled his eyes at the piece of paper. It was covered in so much of his best friend's face, you could mistake it as being actually her. He looked to his side to see Hekapoo's reaction, but when he did, he found her looking intently at her invitation, a look of consideration plastered on her face.

After being best friends for well over a month, the boy can tell what that face meant. "You're not actually gonna go to the party, are you?" He asked.

The demon turned her gaze away from the invitation and looked at him with a lifted eyebrow, "Is it a crime if I go?"

"Heka, she may be our friend now, but she's still really weird. And just look at the invitations, it's clear she's still obsessed with you. I wouldn't be surprised if she gave a half-hour-long speech about you at her party."

The demon raised her hands up to her chest, "Okay, I'll admit that she's still kinda weird, alright? But come on, Marco, she's not that bad. She's our friend, and we should go. Plus, it's a birthday party. Which means there's cake, and cake is frickin' delicious."

The boy chuckled and shook his head. Ever since he gave her a slice of chocolate cake from the fridge a few weeks ago, she had become obsessed with cake, as with every other Earth food she tried. And ever since then, whenever there's cake, she would always try to get a slice, and won't stop until she gets one.

Maybe it was better if he hadn't given her that slice. Oh well, at least it's better than being addicted to alcohol.

Marco sighed and shrugged, "Well, if you want to, then I'll go with you. I mean, I literally can't stop you, and I have to watch over you in case you decide to sneak off and buy like five bottles of whiskey."

The demon gasped, placing her hand over her chest in feigned shock, "I would never do that to my one and only fan. What do you take me for, Marco Ubaldo Diaz?'

A smirk crept up Marco's face, "A demon with a tendency to drink in secret, and is good at it."

Hekapoo blew a raspberry at him, "Oh, screw off, you."

The two shared a good chuckle before taking their attention back to whatever they were doing, the decision of going to the party implanted in their minds.

* * *

The day passed by quick. When the final bell of the week had rung, the exits were promptly flooded with students, who were all eager to go home and enjoy the weekend. Once they got out, Hekapoo and Marco made their way home first to freshen up for the party. When Marco's parents questioned them, they explained that they were going to a friend's birthday party. Unfortunately, as with any concerned parent, it earned them a really long lecture that went into detail about spiked drinks and the contents of pepper sprays.

Around four hours had gone past when they were finally released from the parents' clutches. Seeing it was only twenty minutes until the party, the duo hurried on upstairs and freshened up. Since choosing what clothes to wear would waste even more time (and that their wardrobes only consisted of copies of one outfit), they decided to just wear their usual clothes, with a few spurts of cologne/perfume sprayed on them.

Ten minutes later, they headed out, waving goodbye to Marco's parents. They were now walking down the sidewalk towards the venue. Clusters of stars shined brightly above, to the point where streetlights weren't necessary. The streets were quiet, with only the occasional rustling of the trees and the constant chirping of crickets filling the atmosphere.

On the way, the two discussed various things, mostly being about the party. Like who would be there, and what kind of cake would there be. They even made a bet on how long it would until HekapooFan16 gives a speech about the demon.

Eventually, their conversation ended when the sight of her house came into view. It had two floors - three if you count the attic - and looked quite spacious from the outside. The walls were painted a bright yellow, and the shingled roof was given a deep red color. All the windows were literally spotless; they could clearly see the inside from the sidewalk. Flowers of all kinds were dotted around the front lawn, ranging from roses to sunflowers, with two rows of daffodils at the sides of the pathway leading to the front door.

From where they were standing, the house seemed to be empty; it was like there was no party being held. The two raised their eyebrows at the quietness. Sure, they were ten minutes early, but even then, parties wouldn't be this quiet around this time.

Shaking off the thought, they walked up the pathway leading up to the door. Even as they moved closer, there were still no noise. No music, no chatter, nothing; just silence. The two walked up the steps leading to the oak door, and knocked on it thrice.

As soon as the first knock came, a high-pitched yelp and a thud came from inside. The two looked to each other with furrowed brows, wondering what was going on inside. Quick footsteps followed right after the thud, which gradually became louder until the door was swung open, causing the duo to step back in surprise.

A panting HekapooFan16 was holding the door open. She was wearing a yellow sundress that reached down to her knees, and had a daffodil attached to the right strap, along pair of red flats covering her feet. Her brown hair was messy, and her glasses were crooked, like she just fell down on her face.

A look of surprise passed over her face, which was then quickly replaced by pure excitement. "EEEEEEEEEE! Oh my gosh, you guys actually came!" She squealed.

They opened their mouths to greet her, but they were swiftly cut off when the fan pulled them inside and slammed the door close. Once they were inside, the duo glanced around. As expected, the balloons and decorations around all had to do with Hekapoo, either with her face on it or with her name spelled out in big bold letters. Looking over to the left, they could see the living room. It had an L-shaped yellow couch complete with yellow pillows, a glass coffee table with a few disorganized papers scattered over it, and a small flat screen TV perched on top of a DVD shelf. To their right was the stairs, with multiple family pictures and portraits hanging along the walls amongst the decorations. And in front of them was a hallway that lead to the entrance into the kitchen and dining room.

"Come on, sit on down!" The fan beckoned them over to the couch. The two followed the over-excited fan, with Marco being cautious as usual. They sat down on one end of the couch, while HekapooFan16 sat on the other end, a big goofy grin stuck on her face.

The sounds of a ticking clock filled the room as they sat there, doing nothing. Marco was stiff as a board, and his eyes were going crazy for something to stare at other than the wide-smiled, over-excited fan in front of him, while Hekapoo fidgeted her fingers, smacking her pursed lips once in a while.

The silence went on for a while until it became too awkward for the duo to bear. Marco was the first to break it, "So, where are the others?"

The fan arched an eyebrow, "Others?"

"Yeah, others. You... did invite others, right?"

She tilted her head in confusion for a moment, before she perked up, as if remembering something. "Oh! Yeah, well, they all probably got held up at... whatever they were doing, and it's still early. They'll be here." The fan looked to the side and lowered her voice, "They'll be here..."

"Well, do you have anything to pass the time?" Hekapoo asked.

"Oh, I know something!" The fan reached a hand behind her back, and seemingly pulled out a notebook from nowhere. Hekapoo and Marco both raised their eyebrows, wondering where the heck she was keeping that notebook.

The fan thrusted the notebook in front of them. "Tada! My notebook of fanfictions about you." She exclaimed, excitedly shaking the notebook from side to side like a steering wheel.

"You wrote fanfictions about me?" Hekapoo asked.

HekapooFan16 nodded. "Mhm. I thought we could pass the time by reading some fanfictions. Plus, I could use some feedback." She opened her notebook and flipped through the pages, until stopping at a page halfway through.

"I call this one: Hekapoo Vs. The Forces of Her Ex-husbands." She said, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Marco narrowed his eyes, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

The fan ignored him. She straightened her back, and with a clear of her throat, she began reading, "Chapter 1: Hekapoo Unconsciously Comes To Earth. It was quite a beautiful day in Mewni. The sun was shining, and tons of native birds soared through the cooling air..."

* * *

"...When they stepped through the portal, their noses were immediately hit by the smell of mud and dew. The color green filled their surroundings..."

It had been half an hour since HekapooFan16 started reading, and yet, no one else had arrived. Hekapoo and Marco were slouching against the couch, bored as all heck. Sleep had been threatening them to close their eyes for the past three chapters, but they fought the heaviness of their eyelids for the sake of the fan.

However, when another five minutes went by, Marco just couldn't take it anymore. Five more minutes of fanfictions, and he would jump off a bridge. "Argh!" He shot his arms up in the air, catching the attention of both Hekapoo and her fan, "What the heck?! It's already 8:30! Where is everyone?! Are you sure you invited anyone else other than the two of us?"

Marco's sudden snapping seemed to have scared the fan, as evident by her quivering lip. "Y-yes, I did! We just have to wait. T-they'll come, I know they will." She said, her voice dripping with fear.

The boy sighed exasperatedly, "You kept saying that for the past half-hour, and I'm starting to believe it won't happen. Look, I... think I'm gonna go. Happy birthday, HekapooFan16."

"Wait, no!" The fan shot up from her seat and reached out a hand to him, "Please stay, at least for a little longer!"

"Uh, look," Hekapoo stood up from the couch, and placed a hand on the fan's shoulder. HekapooFan16 glanced at her hand, then looked back up at her with shaky eyes, "It may be your birthday, but we don't really want to sit around with nothing to do but read fanfictions about myself all night," She patted her shoulder, "But happy birthday, anyway."

Hekapoo flashed her a smile before walking away to join up with Marco. They were on their way towards the door when the fan's voice called out, "No, w-wait! Please!"

When they heard a loud sniff, they immediately turned around. The fan standing there, visibly shaking and with streams of tears running down her cheeks. Her fists were clenched tightly and her eyes were shut. She tried to fight the tears away, but she just couldn't.

"Whoa, okay!" Hekapoo and Marco were at the fan's side in an instant. When she felt their hands soothing her back, the fan collapsed onto the couch and sobbed harder than before.

The two sat down with her and continued to sooth the fan, exchanging confused glances for a second. A minute or so of sobbing and sniffing passed by before the fan's breathing had finally stabilized and the tears had ceased

Moments of silence went by before Marco softly asked, "So... what's up with you?"

She sniffed, "I... just want to have an actual birthday for once."

"What do you mean?" Hekapoo asked.

The fan sighed sadly, "No one really ever comes to my birthdays. Every year, I send out invitations and wait. I even stayed up late all night right by the door once, hoping at least one person comes in, but no one ever came. Even my parents don't have time to celebrate. I had to set this all up by myself."

She sniffed, "When you guys came, I thought I was gonna have an actual party for once, since we're friends and all. But... I guess not..."

The two frowned. The fan looked so broken. Hekapoo sighed, and wrapped her arms around her. The fan flinched slightly from the sudden contact, but calmed down when the demon started to run a hand through her hair.

Moments passed by before Hekapoo broke the contact. "Look, we're really sorry we tried to bail on you."

"And I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier." Marco added, rubbing the back of his head in shame.

The demon continued, "You didn't deserve any of that. No one should deserve any of that, unless they're multiverse-wide criminals."

The fan snorted at her joke, a small smile creeping up her face. "And hey, in order to make it up to you, me and Marco here are gonna throw you one of the biggest birthday parties you'll ever have! I'm talking a house full of people, dance music blasting through really large speakers, a buffet full of great food, cake, really stupid and dangerous games that could ruin your social life, and alcohol!"

Marco scowled at the demon, "Heka..."

"...and definitely no alcohol! Trust me when I say this, we're gonna make this night the most memorable night of your life."

HekapooFan16's smile widened, "You guys would do that for me?"

"Mhm." Marco hummed, surprisingly, "Of course, 'cause you're our friend, even though you're really weird."

The fan's toothy smile practically took over her face. She wrapped her arms around the duo's necks and hugged them tight, "You guys are the best things to have ever happened to me."

Hekapoo returned her smile, "You're welcome. Now let's get this party going! We're gonna do this! All in the span of one hour!"

* * *

After some more hugging, the duo stepped out of the fan's house and into the night. They had quickly planned what they needed for the party: speakers, decorations, a whole lot of food, and chocolate cake. Of course, they needed a few more hands to help with the party; they couldn't all by themselves, and even if they could, it would probably be midnight before they got back with the birthday supplies.

Marco pulled out his phone and started contacting some friends, namely Janna, Fergurson, and Alfonzo. They first questioned them on why they would set up a birthday party on a Friday night, but after some explanation (and bribing for Janna), they all eventually agreed to lend a hand.

Minutes later, all of them were now outside the fan's house, planning for the party. Janna was wearing her usual outfit - which consisted of a turquoise jacket over an olive green shirt, and a yellow skirt, along with an olive green beanie that covered her black hair. Fergurson was wearing his usual clothes too - which were just a dark gray shirt and light gray sweatpants - along with Alfonzo - who wore a blue and white striped shirt and brown shorts that covered his tan body.

Hekapoo wrote a few things down on a notepad, then looked back up to the others, "Alright, here's the plan. Marco and I are gonna get some speakers and decorations from his house, Janna is gonna get a bunch of snacks from the store, and Alfonzo and Fergurson are gonna spread the word."

Janna pouted, "Why do I have to be the one who goes grocery shopping?"

"You're good at tricking clerks for free stuff." Marco said.

"Hmm... you make a good point."

The demon turned to Alfonzo and Fergurson, "How about you two. You guys think you can handle it?"

"Sure we can." Alfonzo stated confidently, "Because we're gonna use this! Do it Fergurson!"

Fergurson quickly lifted his shirt up, making his fat stomach fall out and jiggle about. Right on it were the words "Come to HekapooFan16's party!" painted sloppily in red.

"HekapooFan16's party is the greatest party ever! Woo!" Fergurson yelled, shaking his stomach side to side.

Marco's face contorted in disgust, "Uh, maybe don't use that."

The demon clapped her hands, "Okay, so is everyone good? Good. Now let's go! We got one night to do this."

And with that, the group split up, all heading towards the direction of their assigned tasks.

* * *

"Left. Left. A little more to the left. Oh jeez, right! Right right right!" Marco grunted out as he carried a speaker on one side down the stairs with Hekapoo.

The duo had arrived at Marco' house five minutes ago. When they got in, they were met with Rafael and Angie in the living room, who were, for some reason, wearing ushankas while playing a board game about communism... or something, they couldn't exactly remember. After a quick explanation, Marco's parents gave them the a-okay, saying that they're in the attic and that they're free to use the decorations and speakers however they want.

As long as they "didn't use the fairy lights to summon a thirty feet tall snow demon with deer hands and a red nose".

They first started with moving the boxes of decorations out. Most of them were light, containing only strings of fairy lights and flags, while some were really heavy, like the ones with spotlights and smoke machines. It was back-breaking work (for Marco, at least), but they managed to get them all out and into the living room, where Rafael took care of the rest, having offered them a ride right after their explanation.

That was the easier part, now comes the hard part: getting the speakers out. The things were huge, towering over the duo and almost reaching the ceiling. It took them a while to get the set out of the attic. The speakers were barely able to fit through the attic entrance. It amazed the two that the speakers were in the attic in the first place.

Eventually, they made it through. Now all they had to do was make it down the stairs, which is way easier said than done.

"Alright, careful, a little bit to the left." Marco said. He was carrying the speaker at the bottom end, while Hekapoo was carrying from the upper end. They had been carrying the huge thing down the stairs for around minute now. It was a surprise Marco was still able to carry it.

Hekapoo's arms were starting to ache too. She may be stronger, but the speakers were just too much for her. It's like they were designed to be incredibly and needlessly heavy.

"Are you sure you guys don't need any help?" Rafael asked from the bottom of the stairs.

"No no, it's fine. We got this." Marco assured. They were already around halfway down. Just a few more steps, and it would all be over.

However, when Marco placed his foot down on the next step, he felt it slip a bit. He gasped and froze. Hekapoo looked up from the speakers and raised an eyebrow, wondering why he had suddenly stopped. The boy gulped, and began shifting his foot around for any non-slippery surface, but all it did for him was make his foot slip even more.

A low buzzing sound then reached his ears. A moment later, a fly flew into his vision. It flew around his face, going around in circles over and over. The boy tried to blow it away, but whenever it got pushed back, it just flew right back at him.

He tried to blow it away some more, but his efforts were useless as the fly landed on his nose. A familiar tingling sensation started forming in his nostrils, a sensation he was now fearing. He gasped in a bit of air once, then twice. Marco held his breath, trying his absolute best not to let the tingling sensation get the best of him.

Fortunately, it went by fast. Marco sighed as the sensation faded away.

Then came back.

"ACHOOO!"

The boy's sudden movements caused his foot to quickly slip, making him let go of the speaker and fall down onto the stairs. He painfully rolled down the stairs, hitting every single one of his body parts onto the sharp corners of the steps and letting out pained grunts in the process.

Eventually, his descent came to a stop as he hit his back onto a wall. Pain was freely roaming around in his bruise-ridden body. He felt like he was being punched really hard over and over again.

His eyes were shut tight during the entire descent. Once the pain subsided a bit, he slowly opened his eyes, only to be met by a something black coming at him at full speed.

His eyes widened for a second, before his entire body was crushed beneath the giant speaker, a loud boom echoing throughout the house afterwards. The demon and the parents gasped and ran towards the crushed boy as fast as they could, fear splattered all over their facial features.

"Marco? Are you okay?" Angie asked with shaky eyes as she shook her son's arm.

The boy lifted a shaky and battered finger up, "I-I'm... g-good. Ow."

They all sighed, glad that what they feared hadn't happened. Hekapoo stood up, "I'll... I'll go call someone to fix you up ."

* * *

"Man, I'm still surprised this cart can hold this much stuff."

Janna was currently pushing a cart holding a literal mountain of food and drinks through one of Echo Creek's many 24/7 grocery stores. Most of the mountain consisted of typical party food; chips, sodas, a whole lot of punch, and of course cake. Another thing she was surprised at was how she got a hold of it all in just five minutes, when finding one ingredient for her mom would usually take her well over an hour.

The world works in mysterious ways.

After turning around a corner one last time, she finally found the checkout. Considering it was night, and that no human being would go grocery shopping on a Friday night, the lines were basically nonexistent, which made it much much easier for her.

At one of the checkout counters, a tall, skinny man was reading a comic book, his feet placed on top of the counter. He had long, brown hair that was tied back in a ponytail, and a pair of black-rimmed, circular glasses. He was clad in a white polo shirt under a sky blue apron - typical uniform for a clerk.

The man was too into his comic book to notice the beanie-clad girl approaching his counter. It was only when she cleared her throat did the clerk look up from his comic. When he finally noticed her, a scowl formed on his face.

"Janna."

"Kenny."

The clerk looked up to the mountain of party food behind her, "That's a lot of stuff you got there. It'd be a shame if you can't afford all that."

The girl smirked and crossed her arms, "Oh, I think I can afford all of these."

Kenny snorted, "I don't think so. You know why? Because I've had some resistance training over the past three months. I can no longer succumb to your bribes, Janna!"

"We'll see about that." Janna reached a hand into her jacket, and pulled out a comic book. The front of the cover showed a classy man in a golden suit, named Mr. Lucky, currently beating a robber up with a cane and carrying a duffel bag full of casino chips.

"Mr. Lucky Luckston Issue #47 Special Edition with bonus panels." The beanie-clad girl said smugly.

Kenny's eyes sparkled as he stared at the issue. It was one of the greatest issues, if not the greatest issue of Mr. Lucky Luckston of all time. He had been looking for one of these since forever, and here it was, right in the hands of Janna.

But he couldn't. He couldn't give in to Janna's bribery and risk his job. He just couldn't. Even if it was something he had been searching for a very long time.

The clerk shook his head, and crossed his arms, "No, I won't take it. Like I said, I won't succumb to your bribes no more. It's either cash or get out."

"Thought you would say that." Janna quickly dug her hand into her jacket again and pulled a small, golden, laminated card, and right on it was a picture of Mr. Lucky with his name under it in diamond-encrusted letters.

"Behold, a Mr. Lucky golden card, one of the rarest character cards ever."

Kenny was practically drooling as this point as he stared mesmerized at the two items. He unconsciously reached a hand out for them, but Janna quickly pulled them away from his reach.

"Ah ah ah. If you want these, then let me out of here with all this stuff behind for absolutely free." She shook the items in her hands teasingly, "My offer stands for only ten seconds. Ten..."

The clerk snapped his gaze between the mountain of food behind the girl and the items in her hands, his eyes shaking from having to choose.

"Nine... Eight... Seven..."

Sweat slithered down his forehead as the countdown continued. He was biting his nails nervously as he tried to choose whether risk his job or grab the things he had been looking for a very long time.

"Six... Five... Four... Three... Two..."

"Okay okay okay! I'll let you have all of this for free! Now give them to me!"

Janna smirked victoriously, and tossed the items over to him, "Have fun, Kenny."

As the girl left the store with the cart, Kenny quickly opened the comic he acquired. However, when he got to the first page, it was just white; it was absolutely blank. His eyes widened in fear. He quickly jumped to another page, but that was blank too.

"No no no..." He discarded the comic and checked on the golden card that came along with it. The clerk slowly started to bend the card, hoping to everything that is holy that it wasn't fa-

* _snap_ *

Two pieces of what was once a golden card laid in both of his hands. The worse has come true.

He had been scammed.

His fists clenched around the pieces, then he yelled to the sky, "CURSE YOU, JANNA!"

Meanwhile, Janna pushed the cart along the sidewalk, smirking deviously as she heard the curse.

"Sucker."

* * *

Some time later, the duo and the beanie-clad girl met up back at HekapooFan16's house, though Fergurson and Alfonzo were nowhere to be seen. Hekapoo had called one of her many contacts to fix the boy. Her services were effective, and of course costly, even with a friendship discount. But in the end, Marco got up feeling like a new man, which may or may not be literal.

When they approached the front door, Marco quickly went inside and directed the fan - who had been sitting in the living room reading fanfictions the whole time - to her room, and told her to wait until they were done with the decorations so they can surprise her. She easily complied and, with a nod, ascended upstairs to her room.

The boy quickly went back outside to help with moving all the stuff in. Once they were all inside, Hekapoo took charge and proceeded to dictate the other two, instructing them on where to put what and how to do this. The other two didn't really mind her sudden bossy attitude, since it was for a good cause after all.

Half an hour of decorating and preparing snacks went by fast. Thanks to their cooperation, they were able to get the party set up without any mishap. Hekapoo quickly glanced over the newly decorated living room to check for anything out of place.

Once she saw that everything was in order, she clapped her hands, "Alright, looks good! Let's get her down here."

Marco and Janna nodded and ascended upstairs. After a knock on her door, HekapooFan16 peeked her head out, then stepped outside when she saw the two. She didn't quite know who Janna was, but considering she was with Marco, she assumed she was a friend of theirs.

After informing her that the set up was done, the boy got behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. The two lead the fan downstairs, with Janna holding her hand as to make sure she doesn't fall.

They finally reached the downstairs floor without any trips, and got beside Hekapoo. After facing her towards the living room, Marco counted down, "Okay, three... two... one!"

The boy pulled his hands away. The blurriness in the fan's vision took a second to fade, but when it did, she got a clear view of her newly formed birthday party.

The living room was filled with a yellow light from a bunch of hanging fairy lights and spotlights. The previous Hekapoo theme had been discarded in favor for the birthday girl herself, with her name plastered everywhere on banners, flags, and balloons. Smoke was being emitted in intervals from hidden smoke machines, which made the room look a bit foggy, but sparse enough for them to still see. Along with the numerous strings of fairy lights was a disco ball hanging from the ceiling, its shiny surface glittering from the yellow light.

Over by the entrance to the dining area were the sets of speakers propped up on some wooden boxes, with Marco's laptop resting on a small table, ready to blast out some awesome party music.

And finally, right over on the dining table, was a buffet full of delicious party food. Three bowls of chips sat down on the left side of the table, and a huge bowl of punch surrounded by a bunch of red cups was on the right. And right in the center, was the main attraction; a large, two layer chocolate cake, with the words "Happy Birthday HekapooFan16!" written on top with icing, along with a few striped candles dotted about.

The fan gaped at everything as her eyes sparkled with awe. "It's... it's... perfect!" She turned to the others and pulled them in for a big group hug. Hekapoo and Marco happily returned the hug, while Janna went stiff from the sudden contact.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!" She said rapidly as she jumped up and down with excitement.

The demon smiled and patted her fan on the back, "You're welcome."

"And we all did that in..." Marco checked his phone, "58 minutes. So technically, we did it in under an hour! Wow!"

Their conversation immediately ceased when the doorbell rang throughout the house. The group looked back to the front door with arched eyebrows. They broke the hug off and made their way to the door, curious as to whoever was on the other side.

When they opened the door, they were met with Fergurson and Alfonzo, who definitely weren't alone. Behind them was a whole load of people, all looking eager to get inside. They could see a majority of their classmates were there, along with a few students they didn't share classes with. Surprisingly, even the football team and cheerleading squad were part of the mass of people with the football captain being the most enthusiastic about the party among the crowd.

"Told you we could handle it." Alfonzo said smugly.

"All thanks to this." Fergurson lifted his shirt and began flopping his stomach around, causing a few laughs from a few people.

HekapooFan16 gasped as tears started to form in her eyes, "Oh my gosh... are you guys actually here for my birthday?"

"Heck yeah! We heard this is gonna be the most awesome party Echo Creek has ever seen!" A teen shouted, followed by cheers from a few other people.

"Well then, now that everyone's here," Hekapoo pulled out a pair of shades from her pocket and put them on, "Let's get this frickin' birthday party started!"

"WOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!"

* * *

Saying the birthday party was wild would be an understatement. Dance music boomed throughout the house, reaching as far as a block away, lights flooded out of the windows and entrances, and a few cheers were let out, either calmly or yelled out. The house itself was packed with partying students, half of who were dancing to the beats and the other conversed with their friends over some punch.

Although everyone else was the time of their lives, Marco... not so much as he expected. As with any typical teenage house birthday party, there was bound to be a few hazards here and there, and with Marco being the resident safe kid of Echo Creek, well...

"Whoa! Okay, that was close." The boy said as he caught a vase that had been knocked over and placed it back.

He was making his way towards the buffet, but the hazards just kept ob coming. After slithering out of a group of people, the boy stopped when he noticed one of the speakers was about to fall over another group of people. The boy gasped. He swiftly ran over to it and stopped its descent with his back, then with a grunt, straightened it back up.

"Whew." He wiped a sweat off his brow. The boy returned on his way to the buffet, but when he entered the dining area, he was met with another hazard. A large, brown-haired student was balancing a knife on his nose, the blade being on his nose. His movements were wobbly, and he kept on laughing stupidly.

"Whoa, no! Give me that!" Marco speed walked over to him and snatched the knife away. The student looked down at him and just laughed, before turning away and wobble into the living room.

Marco sighed exasperatedly. Could this night get anymore dangerous? When he reached the buffet, he saw Hekapoo talking with a party goer, who had long black hair and an absurd amount of make-up on, both holding red cups of punch in their hands. Rather than greeting the two, he simply slumped onto the side of the table, and ran a hand through his hair.

The demon noticed the exasperated boy, and raised an eyebrow, "Wow. You're not looking too good."

"I didn't know a birthday party could be so... unsafe."

The party goer beside Hekapoo coughed sarcastically, "Safe kid."

The boy either didn't hear her, or just chose to ignore her. With a sigh, he pushed himself off the table and turned around to grab a cup of punch, but when he reached for the ladle, he was suddenly tackled by someone. He yelped, then turned to his tackler to see Janna. She looked like she had just walked through a tornado. The beanie-clad girl was tightly wrapping her arms around his hips, and seemed to have no intention of letting go.

"He-hey, Marc * _hic_ * ooh..." Her words came out slurred, followed by a goofy giggle.

Marco tried to push the girl off of him, "Whoa, Janna! What the heck are you doing?"

"You * _hic_ * answer me." She began nuzzling her face against Marco's chest, which was beginning to freak him out.

"Okay, seriously, Janna, get off me! Are you drunk or something?"

Another giggle came out, "Maaaaybeeee."

The boy's eyebrows burrowed, "Wait, * _are_ * you actually drunk?"

She ignored his question, and instead poked his cheek, "Hey, have I ever told you that you look * _hic_ * frickin' handsome?"

His face instantly reddened like a tomato as he stared down at the possibly drunk girl in complete shock. "W-what?" He stuttered.

Janna, however, detached herself from the boy and shoved him onto the buffet, making Marco crash with a grunt. Confused and surprised, he looked back up, and caught her laughing hysterically at his face.

"I said you're * _hic_ * stupid! Ha! Got 'em! Hahahahahehehe..." She turned around and drunkenly walked away from the still confused boy, giggling and slithering through the mass of people in front of him.

His gaze stayed glued to the spot where she merged into the crowd, wondering what in the absolute heck just happened. He pushed himself off the table, and when he heard a snicker beside him, the boy turned his gaze towards Hekapoo, who had a hand over her amused smile.

The gears turned in his head for a moment as he processed the previous events. Janna was definitely drunk, which meant she had access to alcohol, and the only one who would have access to alcohol would be...

Marco crossed his arms, and glared at the demon, "Heka, how many bottles did you sneak in?"

She was taken aback by his statement. The demon placed a hand over her chest and scowled, "Whoa, Marco. I may secretly drink and sneak in a few bottles here and there, but that doesn't mean I do it all the time."

His glare intensified, "Heka..."

The demon went silent for a while as his glare stayed glued onto her. Eventually, she gave in with a sigh, "Alright alright. I'll admit, I snuck like two bottles in here. Still, it's not a whole lot."

However, all she got in response were narrower eyes. Hekapoo tried her best to keep her cool and ignore him, occasionally sipping on her drink, but his glare just made her feel uncomfortable to the bone.

She gave in again, and raised her arms up, "Okay, I snuck in like nine bottles of vodka!I'm an alcoholic, what else did you expect?"

Marco sighed exasperatedly, and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Hekapoo! What the heck? You do realize you're giving alcohol to minors, right?"

"Oh come on, Marco. It's not that bad. I mean, just look at HekapooFan16."

The boy turned his gaze towards the living room. The fan was currently on the shoulders of one of the football players, both of her hands holding a cup of vodka.

"Everything is so blurry! Woo!" She said as the football player began spinning her around, earning chants and cheers from nearby people.

Marco turned back to the demon. He threw his arms up in the air as he groaned, "Still! You're not supposed to be giving alcohol to high school students! What if a cop comes by and sees everyone? We're technically the ones who planned this party, and if they find out we did, they'll throw us in jail. I don't want to go to jail, Heka!"

"Sheesh, Marco. Stop worrying, no one's gonna throw us in jail, trust me. Plus, I'm not drinking, am I?" She took a sip on her punch.

Marco's gaze snapped to her drink, then back to her face. He pointed to the cup, "That punch is spiked, isn't it?"

"* _hic_ * Nope." She took another sip.

He sighed, "There goes your new record of one week."

Marco was about to open his mouth to scold the demon, but when he heard a soft, familiar voice behind him, his eyes widened and his body froze instantly.

"Hey, Marco."

He could recognize that voice from a mile away. The boy rigidly turned on his feet to see his Jackie Lynn-Thomas right in front of him. Her platinum blond hair cascaded down beautifully onto her green and white raglan shirt, and her soft, beautiful green eyes sparkled in the yellow rays of light, making Marco's face heat up like metal on a flame.

"J-J... Ja-Jac-J... Jack-Ja-Ja-J..." He stuttered, practically drooling at this point. His heart was on the verge of jumping out of his chest, and his breathing was so quick, it was like he was having an asthma attack.

Jackie, however, began shifting awkwardly in place, completely weirded out by Marco's not so subtle infatuation. "Um... Marco? You okay?" She waved a hand in front of his face, but all she got were nothing but more stutters of her name.

"Okay, well," Hekapoo started walking away from the other two, pointing finger guns at them as she did so, "I'm gonna be somewhere else. You two have fun, alright?"

Jackie watched confusedly as the demon walked away and merged into the crowd, leaving her with a still tongue-tied and brain-dead Marco.

* * *

Meanwhile, across the street behind another house, was a certain Buffgator, currently scouting the birthday party with a pair of binoculars. Along with him were the other ex-husbands, who were all lined up behind the alligator.

"What do you see?" King Lucitor whispered, leaning forward to take a peek at the party.

"I see... a bunch of teenagers, but no signs of her- oh wait wait, there she is, I see her." He said as he zoomed in on the conversing demon through one of the many windows.

The king grinned evilly, "Good. Everyone, disguises!"

Everyone reached their hands into their pockets and dug around a bit before pulling out pairs of groucho glasses. They flicked them open then put them on.

"Alright," Lucitor turned back to the party, "Let's crash this party."

* * *

"Excuse us."

"Ow, hey! Watch the foot!"

"Move, please."

"Whoa, cool glasses, dudes."

The group of ex-husbands stomped their through the crowded party, glancing around for any signs of their ex. Smells of sweat and alcohol wafted through the air, invading the king's nose and making his face contort in disgust.

He straightened his tie, "Teenagers."

Over by the buffet, Marco was sipping on a cup of water, having snapped out of his stupor a while ago after Jackie had left. Even if it was already midnight, the party was still going strong. Of course, it stressed Marco out with all the safety hazards being thrown at him, so he decided to take a little water break to keep some of his sanity.

His break was short lived, though, as when glanced towards the crowd, he could see the familiar horns of King Lucitor sticking out of the mass of party goers, slowly approaching the kitchen. He could also see he brought the others along, with Mr. Antler's antlers sticking out as well as Orion's cosmic glow, among many other distinguishable features.

His eyes widened. The boy quickly gulped down the last of his water and made his way towards Hekapoo. "Hekapoo!" He said as he ran over to her. The demon had been staring out of a window, occasionally sipping on another cup of punch. When she heard Marco called her, she snapped her attention to him.

With an eyebrow raised, she said, "What? Something wrong? Did Justin eat the cake icing again?"

He shook his head, "No, it's something much worse. Lucitor's here!"

As soon as those words reached her ears, she groaned out loud, hanging her head up in exasperation, "They couldn't leave me alone for one night! One night!"

She quickly chugged down the rest of her drink and threw the cup away, wiping away the droplets of punch that clung onto her mouth. The demon furiously stomped her way through the dining area with Marco right behind her. The boy could hear her grumble and mutter curses. She definitely wasn't in the mood to deal with Lucitor right now.

When they reached the living room, she could see a mass of party goers had circled around something, muttering to one another.

"Hekapoo! We know you're here! Show yourself!" She heard Lucitor call out from inside the circle.

The demon rolled her eyes. She slithered her way through the students, her scowl getting more intense with every step. She pushed the last few students away, and immediately glared at her ex-husbands.

When Lucitor caught sight of her, he grinned, "Ah, Hekapoo! Quite a party you have going here. I think it would be better if it were a wedding reception, don't you think so?"

Hekapoo took in a deep, calming breath. She was trying so hard not to literally burst into flames. After a long, drawn-out exhale, she looked back up to the king, "Lucitor, I'm only gonna tell you once. Leave."

"Not without you, we're not!" Rottington stated from behind Lucitor.

The demon huffed out another short, annoyed breath. She turned to the crowd behind her, "Alright, to those who don't want to fight these guys, please proceed to the backyard."

A dozen of students diverged from the crowd and made their way to the back door in the kitchen. All who were left were the football team, their friends, a couple of students, and surprisingly, the birthday girl herself.

"We good? Good." Hekapoo quickly snapped her fingers and summoned fire around her fist. She snapped around, and punched Lucitor right in the gut. The king yelled in pain, and flew back into the others behind him.

Hekapoo pointed a finger at her exes, "Get them!"

Battle cries boomed throughout the house as a stampede of students and jocks charged towards her ex-husbands. The group's eyes widened. They helped the king up as fast as they could, but they were instantly swarmed by a mass of screaming teens.

Alligator snouts were punched, antlers were yanked, zombie heads flew through the air; it was a complete brawl. Cries and screams of pain echoed throughout the house, dominating the music in volume. Hekapoo was shooting fireballs at her exes nonstop, while everyone else had picked up a few pieces of furniture lying around and started beating the group of men, mostly Lucitor.

Meanwhile, Marco was left to fight Flyguy, who were both in fighting stances. The fly was glaring daggers at the boy, his eagerness to beat the boy up present on his face.

"Give us your girlfriend, safe boy!" Flyguy buzzed.

"Again, for the one thousandth time, she's not my girl-OOF!" A nasty punch struck him on his stomach. He flew through the air over a few students, then crash-landed onto the floor with a grunt.

"Ow... Oh, that one hurt." He groaned. Marco was trying his best to ignore the pain and get on his feet. Then suddenly, a chair arched through the air, and was coming straight for him. Thankfully, he noticed it in time, and swiftly rolled out of the way.

Marco hastily got up and faced his opponent again. Flyguy had somehow gotten hold of a wooden chair while Marco was down. Now he was at a slight disadvantage. The fly brought the chair above his head, and swung down fast on the boy. Marco hopped away from the chair's arc, making the fly miss once again.

"Rah! Come here!" The fly charged towards the boy, preparing for another attack. Marco didn't have to hit him with a counter attack, as the fly had already begun a swing to his side. Fortunately, he was able to react fast enough to twirl away from the swing. Unfortunately, he crashed into a fleeing Rottington, who was holding his currently flaming head as he ran away from Hekapoo, screaming for dear life.

He fell to the ground once more. Flyguy saw the opportunity, and hit him right on his left shoulder. The boy screamed from the strike. He clutched on his shoulder as he felt the pain shoot throughout his arm like electricity. Marco looked up from his arm for a moment, and saw another swing incoming.

The boy rolled out of the way, causing Flyguy to miss him again. He hastily got up from the ground, ignoring the pain that was shooting through his arm. As soon as the boy was up on his feet, the fly went to hit him in the hip, but Marco was able to step back from the attack.

Flyguy was now relentless in his attacks. He kept attacking the boy from all sides, not giving him a single chance to fight back, which caused him to be pushed back into the dining area.

As another overhead swing came at him, he dashed in between Janna and Handsome Vampire, the latter currently being punched in his beautiful face repeatedly. The attack missed, instead hitting the vampire straight in the head, knocking him out cold.

Flyguy charged forward, right past the Armless Blacksmith, who was being strangled by Fergurson and Alfonzo using one of his arms, and tried to strike him in the chest. The boy tried to sidestep it, but one of the legs hit him on his right arm. He winced from the pain, and stumbled back from the force.

Marco fell on his back once again right next to Buffgator, who was being ridden like a horse by HekapooFan16 and beaten with piñata sticks by the football team. He let out a pained groan as he got up from the ground for the third time tonight. The boy saw the slowly approaching fly. Hos eyes were furious, and his hands were tightly holding the chair. He needed to get some breathing room; he couldn't fight in his weak state with all these people around.

Turning his head around, he got a glimpse of the dining area, which seemed untouched from the ongoing brawl. After taking a glance back at Flyguy, he frantically got up and sprinted towards the dining area.

The fly saw his escape attempt. He lifted the chair above his head, and threw it hard at the fleeing boy. The chair tore through the air above the crowd. Marco glanced back and saw it coming. He quickly ducked, letting the piece of furniture crash and slide along the floor.

Marco continued his hurried dash towards the dining area. The students from outside were watching the brawl through the windows, oooing and gasping as the fights went on. When Marco reached the buffet table, he tried to find anything of use to fight with.

But he was too slow.

He heard the buzzing of wings behind him. Marco turned around, and was met with a nasty jab to the face. He crashed onto the buffet table, causing a few snacks to bounce off and the crowd outside the windows to gasp in fear.

He groaned in pain, clutching on his pained cheek. It felt like he was hit with an aluminum bat. Looking up, he saw the fly approaching him with a murderous grin. Once he was at Marco's feet, Flyguy picked the boy up by the collar of his hoodie, and carried him over to the punch bowl.

"Hope you like punch." He said with an evil grin.

"No, wait. Nononono!" Marco said, frantically waving his hands at the bowl of punch in front of him.

His pleads for mercy were ignored, however. Before he knew it, his head was thrust forward and splashed into the punch. He thrashed and gurgled, feeling the drink enter his mouth like a flood. The crowd outside gasped as they watched Marco get drowned.

His thrashing about fortunately earned him his life back, as his foot kicked the fly in the shin, causing him to yell in pain and let the boy go. Marco's body dropped onto the table with a thud. He whipped his head up from the now half-empty bowl, gasping all the air he could.

Already, his vision was starting to blur, and his head felt as light as a feather. Marco pushed himself away from the bowl and began wobbling around, moaning and clutching his head. His legs were practically noodles at this point.

"Whoa, okay... ooooooka-"

 ***thud***

Flyguy tore his attention away from his pained shin and over to the knocked out boy. What the heck happened to him? With a raised eyebrow, he slowly approached him, his eyes never leaving his body in case he was faking his unconsciousness. Once he reached his side, he nudged his arm with his foot.

No response came.

The fly nudged him again, only a little harder this time.

Still nothing.

"Did I just kill him?"

The fly slowly crouched down beside him. He reached out a cautious hadn towards his head to nudge it. But suddenly, Marco's arm shot up from the ground and caught Flyguy's wrist. The fly gasped. He tried to pull away, but found out he couldn't.

Then, Marco's head suddenly shot up. "WOOO- * _hic_ * HOOO!" He yelled.

Marco drunkenly shoved himself off the ground and onto his feet, wobbling around in place as he tried to balance himself. He was giggling uncontrollably, and one of his eye were half-lidded.

Flyguy was so caught off guard by the boy's drunkenness, he hadn't seen the punch that was coming straight for his cheek. Once the fist hit him, he grunted, and flew back into the living room. He soared through the yellow lights, and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Everyone nearby turned their attention to the downed fly, arching their eyebrows. Then, Marco wobbled into the living room, letting out burps and hiccups as he drunkenly approached the fly.

"Uh oh." Hekapoo muttered before landing a punch on Rottington's head.

The fly's eyes widened in fear as he caught sight of Marco. He tried to crawl away from drunk boy, but it wasn't even a second until his back had hit a wall. Marco stopped by his feet and immediately grabbed him by his skin, pulling him up to his face.

"I have nothing really * _hic_ * cool to say, so I'm just gon- * _hic_ * gonna headbutt you really really really hard."

He threw his head back, and with as much strength he could muster, struck the fly hard on his noggin, immediately knocking him out cold. The fly's body went limp. Seeing no more movement, Marco dropped the unconscious fly onto the floor with a thud.

Everyone else, even Lucitor and the other ex-husbands, stared at the drunk boy in shock as he turned around to face him. Marco felt his head become light again, and his vision began blurring. He felt a thick liquid run down from his nostrils, and drip onto the floor.

"I probably shouldn't have * _hic_ * done thaaaaa..."

 ***thud***

* * *

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, happy birthday! Happy birthday to you!"

Everyone crowded around the birthday girl as she stood in front of her cake. After getting beat up several more times, Lucitor and the other exes gave up and wimpily retreated through a portal, with the king berating them as they staggered through.

Of course, half of the party were bruised and bleeding (especially Marco). It took an hour for everyone to get treated, but eventually, everyone had come together at the buffet table to sing HekapooFan16 a happy birthday, with the house completely trashed.

"Make a wish already!" Janna said with feigned annoyance, holding a slab of meat over her black eye.

The birthday girl closed her eyes for a moment as she thought of her wish, then blew out her candles. Everyone cheered and clapped, with only a few pained grunts and winces in between.

"Congrats, you." Hekapoo said with a smile as she playfully punched the birthday girl on the arm.

"Yeah, congrats." Marco added, holding a lump of blood-stained tissues over his nose. He gagged as he felt another vomit incoming, which was then discharged into the trash can he was holding.

HekapooFan16 smiled. "Well, this wouldn't be possible without you guys." She threw her arms over their shoulders and pulled them close for a hug. Everyone, even Janna, let out aw's as they watched the embrace. The trio, meanwhile, had wide smiles on their faces as they felt themselves being embraced by one another.

"Amy." The fan whispered.

"What?"

"My name's Amy. Don't tell anyone, it's just between us."

The duo's smiles widened, "Happy birthday, Amy."

...

"So who's gonna clean all this up?"

* * *

There's so many words, my phone can't handle it.

So yeah, that was that. Next up is Mewberty! Get ready for some small Markapoo and a bit of foreshadowing!

Until next chapter.

5209164


	8. Love Worm

A/N: Yes, you read it right, 11k words of forced Markapoo!

...

So yeah, onto other things. First off, sorry for taking so long. School has been throwing projects at me left and right, taking a lot of my time away. So yeah, sorry. Secondly, as you'll see, this chapter's writing style is a bit different than the others. It has a bit more... narrative parts, I guess? I don't know how to exactly describe it. All you need to know is that the style changed, and wil probably change a lot in the next chapters.

Also:

 _ **TRIGGER WARNING**_  
This chapter can get a bit... _rapey._ So, if you're easily triggered by that stuff, then... I don't know, fricking close your eyes or something.

Anyway, enough stalling! Enjoy!

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 8: Love Worm

* * *

Silence filled the Diaz house, accompanied only by the light snoring of the remaining adult occupants. It was a Thursday night. Normally, that wouldn't mean anything special - just be another boring, uneventful night. But over the past five weeks or so, it was the night that the missing occupants, Marco and Hekapoo, would have what they agreed to call: Late Night Conversation Thursday (name courtesy of Marco).

It was a weekly thing the duo had ever since Hekapoo randomly got a case of insomnia one night (Marco was surprised she was even capable of suffering from insomnia). She just couldn't go to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, every time she would close her eyes and begin falling asleep, there would always be something in the back of her mind that woke her back up.

Hekapoo didn't know what it was, or why it was there. It was just... _there._ She tried ignoring it, she tried drinking some warm milk, she even tried counting sheep in her mind (which she thought was absolutely ridiculous), but none of them worked.

After counting off the 1672th sheep, she had finally given up. If she couldn't go to sleep, might as well do something to pass the time. She considered watching some TV, or going to some other dimension, but when she passed by Marco's room, her mind completely erased all other considerations and easily pushed her to his door. Just like the thing in the back of her mind, she didn't know why she went to his door or why her mind just canceled out every other thought. It was like her mind was being toyed by some godly being or something.

But ultimately, she hadn't regretted it. In fact, she was glad she went to his door.

When she peeked in behind his door, the first thing she saw was Marco's sleeping form, snoring away. Of course, she envied him, seeing him sleeping like a baby and all. But being jealous wasn't why she was there, so she pushed that envious thought aside for now.

"Hey, Marco. You awake?" She whispered loud enough for him to hear.

She was surprised when Marco immediately began squirming from her whisper. After one last quiet call, he was finally awake. Groaning tiredly, he lifted his head up from his pillow and looked towards the door. "What...? Who...? H-Hekapoo...?" He groggily said.

She couldn't help but smile a bit, "Hey, do you have time?"

"Time...?" Marco glanced towards the alarm clock beside him. Seeing it say 1:45 AM, he furrowed his eyebrows and turned back to her. "Hekapoo, it's like... late at night, and it's a school day tomorrow. What are you doing up so late?" He asked.

She shrugged, "Can't sleep. I tried everything. Milk, sheep, staring at the ceiling, nothing worked."

Marco raised an eyebrow, "And you want me to help you fall asleep?"

"Sorta." She said, "Maybe we could just, I don't know... talk or something? Perhaps your lame jokes can bore me to sleep."

Considering his mind was still tired, the boy scowled a bit at her words. But when he saw Hekapoo's grin, he quickly knew she didn't mean anything by it.

Grinning himself, he decided to play along, "That's kinda insulting."

She snorted as she fully entered his room, "It's supposed to be insulting, dummy."

After that, the night went by fast. They first started talking about how their day had gone, which Hekapoo admitted was 'pretty frickin' lame'. Then their talk went to things about themselves they haven't told each other yet, from Hekapoo's home dimension, her job, her older sister relationship with Rhombulus, to Marco's dream of being a therapist, his deep hatred towards Jeremy Birnbaum, and his total obsession for the color red. After that, they went to tell each other anecdotes, like how Hekapoo once caught Rhombulus kissing a body pillow of Queen Moon in the bathroom, to the one time Marco stubbed his toe when he was seven, which contributed to his safe kid image a bit.

Many laughs and embarrassed blushes were had that night. It was great! So great in fact that Hekapoo had fallen asleep during one of Marco's anecdotes. He could still remember how soundly she slept - one hand under her head while her breath lightly puffed on the other.

Seeing how late it was, he decided that it would be better and less tiring if he just left her there. Which he did as he lied back down on his bed, letting Hekapoo's breaths lull him to sleep.

The next week had been alright for the demon. She was able to go to sleep without the help of a late night conversation. Marco thought her insomnia had passed, right until next Thursday night when Hekapoo peeked in through his door. It was strange, really. She had an easy time sleeping the past week, but then suddenly she gets hit by insomnia again. What's even stranger was that she went to him the moment she wasn't getting any sleep that night.

The night went on like the last one; they talked, laughed, then both fell asleep. When Marco woke up, he started questioning Hekapoo's sleeping behavior, and even began finding ways to help her fall asleep without the need to wake him up and talk to him. Of course, he couldn't find one, and it frustrated him. He really wanted to help her, but it was just too difficult.

So when she told him that he needed to just "let it be", he was honestly quite baffled. Hekapoo, the one who had been suffering from insomnia for the past two Thursdays, had told him to stop finding a way to cure her insomnia and just let it be.

He thought it was stupid.

But ultimately, he followed her advice, which jump-started "Late Night Conversation Thursdays", the night where they just talk and talk until they both fall asleep.

Which now brings us this Thursday night. They were supposed to talk that night, but unfortunately, they were interrupted when a call from Hekapoo's mirror phone brought them to run an errand for her former soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Star. Apparently, she needed a vial of special lake water from the Love Dimension. That was all Hekapoo could make out amongst her whispers. Everything else was near incomprehensible, although she could make out a few words such as "perfume", "masks", "dress", and "next week".

Of course, they first protested against running the errand, saying that they were in the middle of something (which elicited a few suggestive hums from her). But after hearing Star's near tearful pleas and puppy whines, Hekapoo just couldn't ignore her, and eventually agreed to do it.

Although the name does imply it, the Love Dimension is nothing like love. Instead, it was only filled with pain - crushing, agonizing, sometimes heartwarming pain. Dangerous creatures of all sizes roamed the pink and purple forests of the dimension, all looking for their next victim to crush in a death hug or suck their soul through kisses.

That's not to say there were a few sights to see, like the multiverse-wide famous Heart Rock Mountain, a tall mountain that was home to a naturally heart-shaped boulder, or the ever popular Fountain of a Thousand Kisses, where if you drink the water from it, you would feel the joy one would get from receiving a thousand kisses.

Now, considering the duo were given the task late at night and were practically rushed to get Star a vial of that water with their somewhat tired bodies, they hadn't quite thought their plan well enough.

Heck, they haven't even thought of _a_ plan.

Which was why when they stepped out of a pink, swirling portal and into Marco's moonlit room, they were covered from head to toe in pink slime. Their faces were smothered in lip stick stains, and they even got a few heart-shaped (and thankfully peelable) hickeys on their necks.

Marco was not looking to pleased with himself. He tried his best to rid of the slime on him, but it just stuck to him like house flies. He groaned, "Ugh, this is gonna take a while to wash off."

"Yeah, I know," Hekapoo peeled a heart hickey from her neck, flicking it away afterwards. "Well, at least we got this." She dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a glass vial filled to the brim with pink, glittery water, which shimmered against the bit of moonlight that seeped in through the window.

"Tell me again why Star couldn't get it herself? Doesn't she have her own pair of scissors?" Marco asked.

The demon shrugged, "I have no idea. Though I heard her say something about her scissors being taken away dur- OW!"

She was suddenly cut off when sting shot throughout the back of her neck. She felt like she was pricked by hundreds of needles in one specific spot. Her reflex caused her to shoot her hand up and clasp on the pained spot. The pain was so bad, she had to clench her teeth hard and shut her eyes tight, hoping it could help lessen the intensity. But no matter what she did, the intensity remained the same, if not became even more painful.

Hearing her pained yelp, Marco's eyes widened. His safe kid instincts kicked in, shooting him towards Hekapoo's side in an instant. She was still clutching on her neck, groaning and hissing through her teeth. The pain had already gone from needles to a whole arrow being lodged deep into her neck, all in the span of a second. It was so darn painful that if it went on for any longer, she would start screaming.

But then suddenly, it stopped. Just like that, no more pain, no more arrow digging deep into her neck anymore. All she felt now was a tiny bump on the back of her neck the size of a ping pong ball, and two cold, slimy hands on her shoulders.

"Hey, you okay?" Marco asked. His worried eyes darted around her face, looking for any signs of an injury.

When she failed to give a response, she felt his grip on her tighten. For some reason, she felt a tingling sensation throughout her shoulders at his touch, as if his hands were feathers that lightly brushed her skin. It felt... good.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and was met by a pair of soft, brown eyes that seemed to sparkle in the bit of moonlight they stood in. Accompanying those eyes was a warm, almost seductive smile that somehow sent butterflies to flutter around in her stomach.

Their eyes were locked together. Hekapoo could feel his breath puff lightly onto her face, which made her own breath quicken with every puff. She felt his hands tighten their grip even more, eliciting a soft moan from her lips. She could feel something was pulling her closer to him, inching her closer to his face.

His cute and handsome face.

Letting her urges take over her body, she raised her hands up and gripped his arms tightly. When she felt another puff of breath land softly on her face, she let out another moan, this one a bit louder than before. She gripped his arms even tighter as she inched closer to his face. Her eyes were half-lidded, and her lips slowly parted with every inch she covered, ready to taste those sweet, lush li-

"Hekapoo!"

The demon jolted from his sudden yell. Having snapped out of her stupor, her eyes shot back up to his own. Instead of the soft brown eyes she had been pleasantly lost in, two concerned brown eyes had taken their place, accompanied by a pair of quivering, scared lips.

His pants huffed onto her face, which helped her notice just how close their faces were - their noses were practically touching. Her eyes instantly widened. Gasping, she backed her head away at breakneck speed, releasing the death grip she had on his arms afterwards.

Hekapoo stepped away from the boy, still keeping her shocked stare on him. "I- Uh..." She stuttered.

"Um..." Marco gulped, his face as red as his hoodie. "Heka, are you okay?"

"I'm..." Her word lingered in the air for a moment as they stared at each other, both with fear in their eyes, "...I'm fine. Totally fine."

Marco, of course, didn't buy it, "Are you sure? Because you didn't... seem t-"

"No no no, I'm fine, really," She cut him off, "Just... I just need a shower and some sleep, alright? I'll uh... I'll see ya in the morning!"

Before Marco could stop her, the demon turned on her heel and made her way out of the room as quick as a fox. Her movements were stiff, and her arms were glued to her side as she speed walked out.

Marco stood frozen in the middle of his room. He could still feel her breath on his face and her hands gripping tightly onto his arms. Millions of questions were racing through his mind, some he knew were ones that definitely weren't gonna get answered any time soon.

"W-what?

* * *

The morning sun had finally risen, turning the starry night into a bright cloudy morning once again. Birds sung their usual rising tune, and people were already bustling about, preparing for one last weekday.

At the Diaz dining table sat a lone and very, _very_ tired Hekapoo, trying her absolute hardest to just lift the spoon of cereal up to her mouth. Her hair was in absolute disarray from tossing and turning all night, and eyebags as thick as her fingers sagged under her fatigued, half-lidded eyes. Her hand was even struggling to hold the spoon up - she was so tired, it felt like she was lifting a two ton barbell.

It wouldn't be wrong to say last night had been one heck of a night for her. First, there was the whole incident inside Marco's room, which was what kept her awake all night. Then, she slipped on a puddle of slime the moment she got out of the shower, making her have to take _another_ shower. And lastly, she had somehow confused Marco's toothbrush with hers. If the whole incident with Marco hadn't happened, the weird feeling she got from using his toothbrush definitely would've had her staring at the ceiling all night.

Yup, one heck of a night.

It also wouldn't be wrong to say that her brain had been temporarily turned into mush. She couldn't think straight, and her body was practically on autopilot the whole time, which would explain the amount of spilled milk and cereal all around the table, and how she hadn't noticed Marco walk into the room.

"Morning, He-" Suddenly hearing a voice in the room, the demon let out high-pitched yelp, then reflexively threw the spoon at the boy.

"Whoa!" He successfully ducked under the spoon's path, making the utensil miss him and hit the wall behind him with a _ding._

After taking a glance back at the spoon, he turned around to see a panting, wide-eyed Hekapoo, who had her arm raised up from when she threw the spoon at him.

"Um... hi...?" He said, giving her a small, awkward wave.

Now registering his greeting, Hekapoo let out a sigh of relief. With a scowl, she looked back up at him, "Don't startle me like that, jeez..."

"Uh, sorry." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, it looks like you still can't sleep without Late Night Conversation Thursdays."

Resting her head on the table, she let out a groan, "Obviously."

Marco just stood there, staring pityingly at the fatigued demon. It saddened him, seeing her that tired, which made the reason he was there in the first place a lot harder to do since, well, it would put a lot more on her shoulders.

Huffing out a breath, he pushed himself to approach the table and take a seat on the chair beside her. The demon either hadn't noticed him or just ignored him, since her head was still rested on the table.

With a sigh, he spoke up, "Um, Heka, can we talk about... last night?"

Hekapoo let out a groan, she had been dreading those six specific words all morning. She knew he was going to talk about _that,_ because why else would he be there? After a few moments of hesitation, she finally pushed herself to lift her head up and look at him, feeling a tinge of embarrassment in her chest.

Taking that as confirmation to continue, he said, "Heka, are you... actually okay? I mean, you... tried to... uh..."

"Kiss you?"

A hint of red faded into his cheeks, "Y-yeah, that. Then you just walked out of my room without any explanation. Seriously, are you okay? You're not sick or something, are you?"

She sighed, "No, I'm fine, alright? I was just... tired and stuff."

Marco held a skeptical look, "It didn't seem like you were."

Another sigh escaped her lips, this one a lot more tired than the last one, "Marco, I said I'm fine, alright? You really need to stop worrying about me so much."

He crossed his arms and kept his face stern, "Heka, I'm your guardian, housemate, and most of all, your best friend. I _have_ to worry about you. And you saying 'stop worrying' is definitely going to make me worry!"

She groaned in frustration. Sometimes, Marco gets so stubborn when it comes to safety - too stubborn. Hekapoo was trying real hard to keep her calm. She knew his worrying was with good reason, and she couldn't just snap at him for being concerned about her safety.

After letting out long, calming breath, she placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him straight in the eye, "Marco, I. Am. Fine, okay? I mean look at me, I'm not trying to kiss you now, am I?"

Marco shook his head.

"See? So for the love of everything magical, please stop stressing yourself over me, alright?"

Marco stared at her softened eyes for a moment before finally conceding. With a sigh, he said, "Yeah, you're right. I should really stop worrying about you so much."

At his words, a soft smile crept up her face. "Good." She said, patting him on the shoulder.

Looking at her, he couldn't resist the smile that came at him. Every time she would smile, he would quickly follow after, even if it was after a joke directed at him. It was like an infection he just couldn't cure.

Hekapoo, however, started feeling... _weird_ when returned her smile. Along with her neck, the hands she had on him were beginning to warm up, to the point where it felt like they were about to burst into flames. Her heart was racing, her breathing was quickening, and her face was reddening by the second.

She could feel the thing her mind was coming back, back to inch her closer to his face. But this time, it was more greedy, more unignorable, more... _aggressive._

Marco, meanwhile, stood frozen under Hekapoo's grip. When she had her hands on him for a bit too long, he tried pulling away, but when he did, her grip just tightened, completely stopping him in place.

She had the same look from last night - half-lidded eyes, blushing face, and slightly parted lips. He could feel her breath puff onto his face quicker than before, and he could literally feel the heat in her hands through his hoodie.

Marco knew what was about to happen, and he intended to stop it before something regrettable happens. He went to pull away from her grip again, this time with more force, but when he failed, he was suddenly pulled up from his seat, then was forcefully pushed onto the table.

A mix of a gasp and a grunt flew out of his mouth when the edge of the table hit his back. He tried to get up, but was immediately put back in place by Hekapoo. She had his arms pinned to the table, stopping any attempts to push her off. Marco could feel her leg lustfully rubbing on his, and her hip forcefully digging into his own with every breath she took.

Hekapoo now had a much more different look - a look of pure lust. There was also something in her eyes. It looked her pupils were pink, and glowing. She started inching closer to his face, practically moaning his name.

"H-Hekapoo, stop!" Marco demanded, but his words fell on deaf ears. He tried again, but still got nothing - nothing but another sultry, lustful moan.

Hekapoo got closer and closer to the point where their noses were almost touching each other. Her hot breath landed on his lips, and he could almost feel her tongue prodding them, trying to peel them apart. With another moan of his name, she slid her right hand down his arm, and traced her fingers around his chest, looking for the zipper of his hoodie.

Seeing the chance, Marco used his free arm to forcefully shove Hekapoo off of him. The demon yelped and stumbled backwards until her back crashed into one of the kitchen counters. Panting heavily, Marco watched as Hekapoo shook her head and snapped her eyes back at him, the pink glow in her eyes slowly fading away.

When she saw a panting, shaking Marco, a look of pure shock took over her once lustful face, then placed a hand over gaping, quivering mouth. She couldn't say anything as guilt ran through every inch of her out-of-control body, which brought her to near tears.

"I-I..." Hekapoo couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't look at what she had done to her best friend. In the blink of an eye, she darted out of the kitchen and sprinted through the living room. Once she reached the front door, she swung it open, nearly taking it off its hinges, and ran away, not once looking back.

She was already out the door when Marco snapped his gaze to the living room. "No, Hekapoo, wait!" He called out to her, but all he got as the whistles of the air that was getting inside.

Without hesitation, he shoved himself off the table and sprinted after her.

* * *

"Argh! What the heck is happening to me?!" She slammed her fists on the sink.

Hekapoo had run halfway through the neighborhood to the school. Not once did she look back, nor did she even think to go back. After what she thought she did to Marco, there was no way she was going to face him, and there was definitely no way she was going let herself hurt Marco even more.

So, she ran to where Marco would never expect to willingly run to: the school. When she was running through the halls, she heard a few murmurs and mumbles from the students that were around her, but she ignored all of that. The only thing that was in her mind was staying the heck away from Marco.

And that's how she ended up locking herself in a restroom located in the far back end of the school well away from everybody else, screaming at her own reflection.

She was furious with herself, furious for hurting Marco like that and possibly traumatizing him for the rest of his life. And worst of all, she couldn't do anything to stop it. It seemed that every time Marco got near her, her body and thoughts would become completely out of her control, free to do whatever it wants to him.

And now, it seems like her thoughts became out of her control even when Marco was ways away from her, as they were nothing but him. His name, his face, his touch, everything about him was practically embedded into her mind at this point. Marco this, Marco that...

 _Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Marco, Mar-_

"Argh! Get a hold of yourself!" She screamed at herself, slapping her cheek as if it would swat those thoughts away. But it only seemed to worsen it, as with each slap, her thoughts just became more... lewd.

Enraged, she gripped her hair tightly. "What the heck is happen- AH!" When her voice rose, she felt a sharp sting in the back of her neck, similar to the one from last night, only much more worse. Hissing in pain, she reflexively clasped a hand over neck, and felt that the bump there had grown significantly larger, and seemed to be pulsating in sync with her heart beat.

"What the he- AH! What the?!" Another sting, this time a lot worse than before. It was so painful that her knees nearly buckled from the sting, and she had to hold on to the sink for support.

After pushing herself back up to her feet, she felt something cold and thick run down from nostril to her upper lip. With furrowed eyebrows, she quickly swiped the substance with her fingers. A pink, fluorescent liquid covered the tip of her fingers, which slowly slithered down to her palm like blood.

"Pink...?" The gears in her head turned as she tried to remember what caused pink glowing liquid to run down her nose. It took a few seconds until the answer finally got to her, hitting her like a train on full speed.

"Oh no..." She quickly turned her back to the mirror and lifted her hair away from her neck. What was something she once thought was just a bump had become something even more worse. The bump was glowing bright pink, and the skin around was slowly starting to turn pink as well, spreading throughout like wildfire. And along with it came numerous of heart-shaped spots that were dotted around her upper back, all being a different shade than the rest of her skin.

She knew what that was, she knew _exactly_ what that was. Fearing what was coming to her, she began hyperventilating.

"Oh nononononono..."

* * *

"Hekapoo! Hekapoo!" Marco's voice called out through the empty halls of the school, getting nothing but his own echoes in response.

After the demon had fled the house, Marco ran after her. He was barely able to keep up with her, every time he rounded a corner, she would already be turning down another street. He pushed himself to keep up with her, but hallway through the neighborhood, he realized that chasing her on foot wasn't such a wise decision. Being only human, his legs felt like they were on fire for the rest of the chase, and he thought if he pushed himself even further, his lungs would explode.

Thankfully, the chase didn't last long, as when he rounded a corner, he caught Hekapoo entering the school. Of course, it confused him, seeing her flee to a place she would never willingly go to, but remembering he was chasing after her, he pushed the thought aside and sprinted towards the entrance.

Entering the school, he caught sight of Hekapoo running down to a corner. The students that filled the hallway were all looking to where the demon had run off too, all whispering and mumbling to each other. When he began running after her, he could feel their eyes on him, and could hear their whispers being directed at him.

He ignored all of them, however, and continued on with the chase. Just like before, every time he rounded a corner, she would already be at the end of the hallway. And with all the students in the way, it made it hard for him to catch up with her.

But thankfully, Hekapoo seemed to be heading towards the back end of the school, where the students were few, making it a tad bit easier for him. That unfortunately didn't last long, since when he turned another corner, he had lost sight of her, and was now facing a four-way intersection.

Which now brought him calling out her name through the back halls of the school. From when he was chasing her, there were still a few students loitering around, but now it seems like the halls were completely empty, giving him the sign that class had started. In a normal situation, he would have begun panicking and getting his butt to class, but this wasn't a normal situation. He needed to find Hekapoo before something bad happens to her, and judging by the bad feeling he was getting, he was definitely on a timer.

As Marco turned right into another hallway, he kept an ear open for any sounds. The hallways were completely devoid of any signs of life, leaving it in an eerie silence that put him on edge.

"Hekapoo! Where are you!" He called out to her once again, expecting nothing as a response, but when he heard a light gasp from the restroom door beside him, he jolted a bit.

"H-Hekapoo? Are you in there?" He asked, approaching the door cautiously.

"No!" She yelled, making Marco stop in his tracks, "G-go away, Marco! Ah!"

Hearing her wince, his eyes widened. "Hekapoo, are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Another wince came out. "N-no, just... go away!"

"Hekapoo, I'm not leaving!" He stated, "I'm not leaving until I know you're okay!"

"Oh, for the love of everything magical, Marco! Get the heck outtaaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Hekapoo!" Marco immediately ran for the door. The boy turned the knob, but found out that she had locked herself in. He took a step back and started ramming the side of his arm onto the door, all while her screams continued traveling through the hallways.

After ramming the door for the fifth time, he took a step back and got ready for another one. But then, the screams ceased, stopping Marco in place. The hallways were quiet once again, save for the boy's panting.

"H-Hekapoo...?" Marco softly called.

The boy got nothing for a moment, but when he started approaching the door, something banged against it, making him gasp and jolt away. Another bang quickly came, this one having more force than the last one. Marco watched as the door became more dented with each bang, his hands visibly shaking from fear.

Then it stopped. Seconds passed by without anymore banging, leaving the hallway in the eerie, deafening silence it was previously in. Marco just stood there, watching the dented door. His feet were frozen in place, he couldn't to muster the strength to back away; he was literally frozen from fear.

Suddenly, two quick knocks came from inside, and before Marco could even jolt from the sound, the door suddenly flew off its hinges and crashed into Marco, sending him flying into the wall behind him. A grunt came out from the impact as his body thudded to the floor. He pushed the door in front of him away and clasped the back of his head, wincing when his touch sent a pain shooting through it.

Hearing what sounded like fluttering wings in front of him, he glanced back up, and gasped in horror at the figure in front of him.

In front of him was Hekapoo, but not the Hekapoo he knew. Her once pale skin and red hair were now completely pink along with her dress. Her arms were long and grotesque, with her hands having thin, sharp claws that looked like they could cut through wood. A pink, fluorescent oozed out of her pores, with more of it coming out of her nose, mouth, and eye sockets. Huge, insect-like wings lifted her up into the air, which fluttered so fast, they were nothing but blurs. A wide, creepy grin was on her face, the tips of her mouth almost reaching her ears. Her teeth were sharp and jagged, and were drenched in the pink liquid that oozed from inside her mouth. But what scared Marco the most were the pink, glowing hearts that replaced her eyes, and seemed to be staring right into his soul.

"H-Hekapoo?" Marco said as he slowly got up, wincing from his aching back.

Her head tilted to the side, making her image that much more horrifying. "Marco..." She sang in a low, demonic voice.

In the blink of an eye, she shot forward towards him, her figure being nothing more than a blur to the boy. He gasped, and quickly rolled out of the way. The demon wasn't able to stop her dash, and promptly hit her head against the concrete wall. She let out a loud shriek from the pain, then snapped her head to Marco.

"Come here, Marco!" She screeched before shooting towards the boy again.

His eyes widened, "Okay, time to run!"

Marco quickly turned on his heels and ran down the hallway, with Hekapoo quickly flying after him. His sneakers squeaked on the floor as he sprinted. He could hear the fluttering wings of the monster behind him, gradually getting closer and closer the farther he ran.

Marco drifted around a corner, almost crashing into a set of lockers. Hekapoo, however, was the one to crash her side into said lockers, eliciting a very loud clang. She quickly recovered, and continued her chase with the boy.

Locked doors and lockers whizzed by his peripheral as he ran with all the strength he had. His legs were starting to burn, and his head was starting to get a little light from the splitting headache he was having. The sounds of fluttering wings were getting nearer much faster than before - he could even hear Hekapoo's pants and growls through it.

Marco drifted and disappeared behind a corner again. The monster picked up the pace and shot around the corner, but when she did, she was immediately hit in the face by a shovel. A loud clang echoed through the halls. Hekapoo screeched and flew back from the force, her hands immediately clasping on her face.

Marco, who had been standing by a tool closet, quickly took the opportunity. He dropped the shovel on the floor and continued running down the hallway, not once looking back to the monster behind him.

Once he rounded another corner, he found an open door to the right that lead to a janitor's closet. Thanking the heavens, the boy dashed towards it and quickly swung the door open, nearly taking it off its hinges. He frantically got inside then slammed the door closed, putting all of his weight onto it to keep it shut.

The closet was dark, with the only source of light seeping in through the rectangular window on the door. As he panted, he could hear Hekapoo outside in the hallway. Her shadow appeared on the floor beside him. She seemed to be glancing around, looking for any signs of him. Marco silently hoped she wouldn't take notice of the janitor's closet.

She glanced around some more, but when she found nothing in sight, she growled and flew away. Her fluttering wings gradually got softer until the hallway was quiet once again. Marco waited a few more seconds before he cautiously opened the door. He checked his left, then his right. When the coast was clear, he sighed and stood up before getting out of the closet.

So to recap, Hekapoo apparently changed into some lust-fueled, butterfly-like monster while in the restroom, and was currently chasing after him throughout the school. He didn't know what caused her transformation, or even what would happen if she were to catch him.

How wonderful.

So now, his goal was to find some form of cure for Hekapoo, all while avoiding certain... something. There was only one problem: he had no idea what she exactly transformed into, or if there was even a way to turn her back. The only people he knew who had tons of experience with everything magical was Hekapoo herself, and...

"Glossaryck!"

* * *

Making it through the school was quite difficult. Marco had to be extremely swift and quiet. One mistake, and he would have to be on the run again.

Of course, he had brushed by probable pain and agony a couple of times. When he was quickly making his way around a corner, he had almost been caught by Hekapoo, who had been at the end of the hallway. Thankfully, he was quick enough to jump back away from her sight, and after a few heart-racing seconds, she had flown away into another direction.

Once that was over, it didn't take long until he made it to Hekapoo's locker. In a conversation during their trip to the Love Dimension, she had told him that she left her mirror phone in her locker for a reason he couldn't quite remember. It surprised him, really, since she never used her assigned locker for, well, ever really.

When he approached the locker, the lock on it was suspiciously missing. If he wasn't being hunted by a butterfly monster, he would've definitely noticed something fishy, but his adrenaline-fueled mind completely blocked that thought out.

He swung the locker open, expecting her phone to right in the middle, clear as day, but all he got was nothing - nothing but dust bunnies and cobwebs. Marco felt his stomach drop to the floor. He started searching around her locker, looking for any secret compartments or gaps that could have possibly hidden her phone.

"Whereisitwhereisitwhereisitwh-"

"What the heck are you doing?"

"AH!" He yelped. Marco jolted away from the locker and raised his fists up in front of him, ready to fight a potential foe, only to find none other than Janna.

He huffed out a sigh and lowered his fists, "Jeez, Janna, don't scare me like that!"

Janna smirked, "Looks like someone's a little skittish today."

Marco just groaned in response before going back to rummaging around in Hekapoo's empty locker. The beanie-clad girl watched him struggle to find Hekapoo's phone, her eyebrow arched up.

"You looking for her phone?" She asked.

He turned back to her, "Um, yeah...?"

"Cool, 'cause I got it right here." She dug into her jacket pocket and pulled out Hekapoo's mirror phone. She tossed it towards Marco, who caught it flawlessly.

He looked down to the phone in his hands, "Um, why do you have Hekapoo's phone?"

Janna crossed her arms, "She's not exempted on my steal list. Which, by the way, you're number one on."

"Yeah, no kidding."

He flicked the mirror phone open and began scrolling through the list of contacts. Her list was long, which was to be expected from a multidimensional being. While he scrolled through, Janna got up close next to him (a little too close if you asked him) to peer at the phone.

A little more scrolling, and his finger finally landed on Glossaryck's name. He swiftly tapped on his contact, and pressed the call button.

 _Ring... Ring... Ring..._

After one more ring, a blue man wearing a yellow robe appeared on the mirror, "Heeeeelloooo! Who the heck is this?"

"Glossaryck! I need your help!" Marco said.

"Ah, Marco! How's Hekapoo doing? And who's that?" He pointed towards the beanie-clad girl.

"Name's Janna! Say, you're magic, right? Could you teach me some stuff? Like, how to summon fire-breathing dragons that can destroy an entire city? Oh! How about a spell that can make a boy fall in love with me? Specifically, cute Latino boys who have a deep obsession with red."

The boy shook his head exasperatedly at the girl before turning back to the blue man, "Glossaryck, do you know anything about people turning into lustful butterfly monsters?"

Glossaryck cupped his chin in thought, "Hmm, lustful butterfly monsters... Do they have pink skin?"

"Yes."

"Really sharp teeth? Pink stuff oozing all over them?"

Marco nodded.

"...Do they have hearts for eyes?"

"Yes!"

The blue man nodded in confirmation, "Yup, just as I thought. Hekapoo got bit by a Love Worm."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows, "How did you know it was Hekapoo?"

Putting on an unamused look, he shrugged, "Why else would you call me? Anyway, basically, Love Worms take control of their victims' brain and up the love stuff making to about... 200%. Then, the actual worm mutates and transforms the victim into, as you said, lustful butterfly monsters. And if a person of the opposite gender comes in contact with them, well, they're pretty much, for the lack of a better word, _screwed."_

Once his explanation ended, Glossaryck narrowed his eyes at Marco, "Now, may I ask, how exactly did Hekapoo get bit? Last I heard there weren't any Love Worms on Earth."

The boy nervously rubbed the back of his neck, "I... have absolutely no idea how that happened. Look, is there some sort of cure to this? Like a spell, or a ritual or something?

Glossaryck intended to push his question on, but knowing Hekapoo was in danger, he let it go for now. "Okay, well, all that needs to be done is to get the person she first came in contact with to showcase his undying love and affection in the most spectacular and amazing way the multiverse had ever seen," he shrugged, "Or they could just hug her, that works too."

"Oh, um," Marco glanced away and let out a nervous chuckle, "Is there... any other way to do that that doesn't involve being really close to her? Like, blowing a kiss at her or something?"

Glossaryck raised an eyebrow, "No... I don't think so. Why would you ask that? It's not like you're the one she..."

He trailed off. The blue man could see fear all over his pursed lips and sweating forehead. "It's... you, isn't it?"

He sheepily nodded.

"Of course it would be you. Well, I wish you all the luck I have. And remember, try not to die!" He gave a goodbye wave to the boy as the call ended, replacing the mirror with black.

"Glossaryck? Glossaryck!" He called to the phone, but the screen just stayed black. Marco's arms limpily dropped to his sides as a look of fear took over his face once again.

"I'm going to die."

Janna patted his back, "Hey, if it makes you feel any better, I'll send my condolences to your parents."

"I'm _definitely_ going to die."

* * *

Marco walked through the empty hallways once more, vigilant for any signs of Hekapoo. All the doors to different classrooms were left open, along with a few lockers. Sheets of paper and books were abandoned on the floor, which made the school look to be completely deserted - it was a possibility, considering an angry, lustful butterfly monster was roaming around the school looking for him.

He made his way through a few more halls, his eyes still sharp for Hekapoo. The silence that surrounded him was eerie and deafening - it felt like he was the last person on Earth.

Suddenly, there was a sound behind him. He gasped and quickly snapped his gaze to the hall behind him, only to find out that there was nothing there. He darted his eyes around for anything out of place, his breathing quickening with every second. Thankfully, seconds passed without any signs of a threat popping up. His gaze lingered a bit, seeing if there really was nothing, before finally turning back around.

The hallway went on for a bit before he approached another corner. But this one was way different from the previous ones. He could see a faint pink light glowing ominously from around the corner. There was also the pink liquid that had been oozing off of Hekapoo smeared all over the walls and floor.

She was close.

Marco quickly gulped down his fear and drudged forward. It seemed like with every step he took, the light glowed brighter and the corner became more messy.

A few more steps, and he was close enough to see the mess in full detail. Along with even more smears were a handful of hand prints on the walls and floor, indicating Hekapoo had taken a few students for whatever reason, which wasn't good at all.

The boy took a long, deep breath before pushing himself forward once again. Careful to not make too much noise, he rounded the corner, and was met with an entrance to a hastily dug out burrow, with broken tiles and heaps of dust lying beside the purple glowing hole.

Sticking an ear forward, he could hear a few mumbles and muffled screams. Someone was definitely down there. Stealthily, he made his way down the hole and continued on. The tunnel in front of him wasn't that long - he could see an opening where the mumbles were coming from.

He tiptoed forward, making sure to not step on any puddles. The jagged walls were absolutely damp with the stuff. Another thing that covered the walls - which he chose to ignore - were numerous hearts scratched onto them, along with some... demanding requests pointed at Marco.

Finally, he arrived at the end of the tunnel, and when he saw what resided inside, his eyes widened in fear. Students lined the walls of the cavern in front of him, all being held up by the pink liquid. Most of them were unconscious, while the rest struggled to be free of their sticky prison.

That wasn't all that was there, though. Right at the far end of the cavern was Hekapoo herself. Her back was turned to him, but he could see she was interrogating to one of the encaptured, though it seemed their conversation wasn't going anywhere.

"Where is he?!" Hekapoo demanded. Her hands were at the student's throat, and she looked close to ripping it out.

"Ack! I-I don't kno-ah! Gah! Please rip my throat out!" The student started crying, pleading for mercy in between sobs.

A furious growl passed through her clenched teeth. Her heart-shaped eyes practically glared swords at the useless student. She tightened the death grip she had on their throat, making them struggle for air as their face slowly turned blue. Hekapoo considered tightening her grip even more, but she immediately stopped when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hekapoo! Stop!"

She released her grip and snapped her body around. Marco stood just a few feet away from her with a (somewhat) brave face. His fists were clenched tight, and his eyes glared hard at the monster.

If Hekapoo were brainless, she would've instantly flown at him, but she wasn't. Her heart eyes narrowed at the boy. There was something he was hiding, she was sure of it.

The two stared each other off for a while. It wasn't false to say Marco was a bit confused. He had no idea why Hekapoo hadn't jumped at him the second she saw him, and he was more confused when she narrowed her eyes at him, as if she was suspicious.

Finally, after what felt like an hour-long staring contest, Marco's fists loosened, and he raised his arms up to his sides. His face loosened a bit, but not so much as to lose his glare.

"I'm here, Hekapoo. Let's just get this over with." Marco said.

As soon as those words reached her ears, she instantly put aside her look of suspicion and broke into wide, toothy grin. Marco's eyes widened for a split second before the monster tackled him and pinned him to the ground.

The monster straddled him, keeping his legs restrained while she gripped tightly onto his shoulders. She brought her face close to his, the pink drool from her teeth dripping onto his face.

Marco was frozen from fear for a moment. Their faces were so close, their noses were practically touching each other. Her heart-shaped eyes seemed to stare deep into his soul. It was like he was staring into the eyes of death itself.

Hekapoo, meanwhile, was the complete opposite. Here he was, the boy she had been looking for, right in her hands. He wasn't even struggling to break free of her hold. So many possibilities were running through her mind, so many she had a hard time choosing from. Whatever, the only thing that mattered was that she had him, and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

Her face slowly inched closer to his, wanting to savor the moment before she finally got a taste of those sweet, soft-

But suddenly, Marco finally snapped back to reality and quickly swatted her hands away. Hekapoo was taken aback for moment, her lust-filled mind coming to an abrupt stop from his unexpected resistance.

Before she could do anything however, the boy swiftly shoved his upper body off the ground and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He hugged her with all the strength he could muster as he shut his eyes tight.

"Pleaseworkpleaseworkpleaseworkpleasework..." He repeatedly hoped.

However, after a minute passed, nothing seemed to have changed. He could still feel the wings on her back and the liquid dripping on his shoulder. Furrowing his eyebrows, he broke off the hug and brought his head back to look at Hekapoo.

Her half-lidded eyes stared unamusedly at him as a slight disappointed frown took over her lips. Marco was practically sweating buckets at this point, both from fear and embarrassment.

"Uh... Did I do something wro-" He was immediately cut off when Hekapoo slapped him hard, leaving a red hand mark on his cheek.

Before Marco could turn back to face her, she let out an angry shriek, spraying even more pink liquid all over his face. She shoved herself off him and quickly grabbed him by his hoodie collar. The boy's screams echoed through the damp cave as Hekapoo flew past all her captives and out into the school hallways once again.

* * *

"...I mean, it's not like I _despise_ it or anything. I like pink actually, it's my favorite color. It's just that, it makes me feel... girly... and vulnerable to stereotyping. Like, 'Oh, hey! You're like pink, so you must like all that other cute and sweet stuff!' when in reality, I actually like creepy and weird demonic stuff and not that girly poop. You get what I'm saying, right?" Janna explained. She was currently sitting on a bench by the school's parking lot, chatting with Glossaryck through Hekapoo's mirror phone.

The blue man waved an assuring hand at her, "No no, I totally get what you're saying, and I can relate to that somewhat. I used to like pink too as a matter of fact, and I still do nowadays. But every time I tell people that I like pink, they say that I 'shouldn't be into girly colors'! Like, it's my favorite color, what the heck am I supposed to do, change it to frickin' blue? No! People should stop classifying colors as either 'manly' or 'girly'! We should have the freedom to choose which color we want without people saying 'Oh, look at Glossaryck, he likes pink! Look at what a frickin' girl he is!'"

"I know, dude! Like, ugh, society, please! You're killing us over here! Whoa, hey, do you hear that?"

Janna turned away from the mirror phone and darted her eyes around for the source of the sounds. It sounded like fluttering wings and high-pitched, girly screaming. The sounds were getting closer and closer, and more high-pitched by the second, and before she knew it, the doors a few feet beside her burst open, revealing Hekapoo and Marco as they flew into the air.

The beanie-clad girl watched amusedly as Marco screamed and tried his best to push Hekapoo's head back away from him. She snickered, "Wow, is that Hekapoo? She looks so... pink!"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Glossaryck sighed, "Of course he would mess it up."

Hekapoo continued to circle around the parking lot, occasionally whizzing past the other two. She was trying her hardest to make out with Marco, but his hands kept her head at bay.

"Come on, just one little kiss!" She hissed through a wide grin.

Marco grunted as he pushed her head away, "Ah, no! Guys, help!"

Glossaryck cupped the sides of his mouth, "Marco, how much affection did you put into the hug?"

"What?" He shoved her head away again.

"How much love did you put into the hug?"

"All of it! But it didn't work!"

The blue man rolled his eyes, "That's because you didn't, dummy! You have to put ALL of your love into the hug!"

"But I did! Ah!" He quickly yanked his fingers away from her mouth when she began biting on them.

Glossaryck shook his head, "No, you didn't! You have to hug her like you mean it! Hug her like she's your life! Hug her like she's your girlfriend or whatever!"

Janna called out to him now, "Yeah! Hug her like you would to me if we were dating!"

"FYI, Janna, I would never hug you like that, let alone date yo- Oh jeez!" Hekapoo barrel rolled around and up a lamp post.

"Just admit it, Marco! You're in love with me!"

"No, I do- Whoa! Ah! No!" Hekapoo suddenly shot way up into the sky. They ascended fast, Marco could see the parking lot quickly shrinking as they flew up. Hekapoo right now wasn't pleased at all. She had been trying so hard to get one little kiss from him, but he wouldn't let up. So now, she was done playing nice.

Marco whimpered as the wind whizzed by his face. Soon enough, Hekapoo halted to a stop. They were now stationary, with the monster gripping on Marco's hoodie tightly. When the boy glanced down, his eyes widened in fear. They were so high up, the parking lot was nothing more than a tiny gray speck.

He gulped and looked back up to see a glaring Hekapoo. "One last chance, Marco. Kiss me, or say goodbye to every single one of your bones!" She drooped down a bit, making Marco gasp from the sudden drop in altitude.

The boy took a few quick breaths before he looked back up at her again. His somewhat brave, determined eyes glared into her narrowed, heart-shaped eyes as his grip on her tightened.

He took a deep breath. "Hekapoo, I just wanna say that..." Marco started, drawing her face closer to him.

"...I'm sorry I punched you!" Marco quickly ripped his hand away and sent a jaw-breaking punch to her face.

Hekapoo screeched from the pain, dropping Marco in the process. Quickly, he shot his hands up to her, and pulled her into a close hug. This time, it was much softer, much warmer than the last one. His arms held her body softly, as if she was the most delicate thing in the entire multiverse. He nuzzled her shoulder, his breath puffing into her pink, damp hair.

They descended fast. Marco didn't care if the hug didn't work. If he was going to die, he would die hugging his best friend. Fortunately, the multiverse seemed to have given him a break this time, as Hekapoo began glowing a bright white, engulfing Marco in it.

He felt his arms slowly hold onto nothing but thin air, and her musky, yet still sweet scent slowly faded away. Worry hit Marco for a moment. The boy opened his eyes to see where she had gone, but it proved to be a huge mistake as his vision was instantly filled with the bright light.

He began losing the feeling of his legs, then his arms, until he couldn't feel anything anymore. He couldn't hear, he couldn't smell, all he could see was white. Nothing but white.

 _Is this what death feels like?_ He thought.

Fortunately, his question was given a no when the light started fading, and he could feel his body again. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to get rid of the blurriness in his vision. When he saw blue and cottons of white, his eyes narrowed from confusion, which quickly turned into shock when he found out what the colors meant.

That was the sky, and the wind whizzing past him meant he was still falling.

Falling _fast._

And like how any other normal person would act in that situation, he began screaming.

Screaming in a really, _really_ high pitch.

* * *

"Do you see them?" Glossaryck asked as he stared up into the sky.

Janna was searching the sky through a pair of binoculars she had apparently 'borrowed' from someone. "No, nothing there... nothing there... nothi- Oh wait, no, there he is!" She pointed towards a red figure screaming for dear life, making its rapid descent just in front of the two.

Glossaryck cracked his knuckles. "Alright, here we go. And... Levitato!" Green energy shot from the mirror phone and quickly engulfed Marco, stopping his fall and suspending him just a few feet off the ground.

Janna's eyes widened in awe, "Dude, you gotta teach me that!"

Marco, meanwhile, was staring wide-eyed at the pavement, panting from the near death he just experienced. His breath slowed to a normal pace as he calmed down, ending his panting with a sigh of relief. After which, the green energy around him quickly dissipated, sending Marco to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, ow..." He groaned. Marco slowly pushed himself off the ground and up to his feet.

The beanie-clad girl approached him, "Hey, you okay?"

He dusted his hoodie, "Yeah, thanks for saving me."

Glossaryck spoke up, "So, I assume the hug worked this time, seeing as Hekapoo isn't trying to violate you now."

"Yeah, it- wait, Hekapoo!" The boy snapped his eyes towards the sky. They darted around, searching through the clouds for any signs of the demon.

"Hekapoo!" He called out to the sky. Seeing nothing, he called out again, "Hekapoo!"

Nothing. His breathing quickened once again, shaky eyes darting around the cloudy sky. Seconds passed, then minutes passed, yet there was nothing.

Sighing sadly, Marco hung his head down. His eyes were starting to sting from tears. He fought to keep standing, but his weakening legs gave in to his sadness, and he fell down to his knees.

He sniffed, "She's... She's..."

Janna patted his back, "It's okay, dude. At least she died hugging you."

A moment of silence washed over them. Marco continued to sob while Janna soothed his back.

"...aaaaaAAAAAAAAA...!"

The boy sighed, "I can still hear her screams in my head..."

"...AAAAAAAHHHH!"

 _CRASH!_

 _beep beep beep beep beep_

Everyone's eyes snapped towards the newly wrecked car a few feet beside them. Hopeful, Marco quickly got up and sprinted towards it, with Janna following behind him. He maneuvered past the wrecked and crushed parts, careful not to slip on the leaking oil. When he approached to the base of the car, he gasped.

"Ow... oh, jeez, everything hurts." Hekapoo - _normal_ Hekapoo - groaned as she tried to sit upright, but the immense pain in her back made it hard for her.

A goofy smile instantly took over Marco's face. "Hekapoo!" He jumped at her, picking her up with a big hug.

Hekapoo confusedly looked down at the boy, "What? Marco? What the he- OW! Owowowow..."

A pain suddenly stung the demon in the back of her neck. She quickly pushed Marco off of her and shot her hands up to her neck. There was something squirming underneath the bump, trying to rip it open and escape - she could even hear tiny, pained screeches.

When her fingers felt something wet and squishy, she grabbed it and yanked it out with an audible _pop,_ then threw it onto the ground. What she pulled out looked a lot like a normal, albeit stubby Earth worm, the only difference being its pink skin and the many heart spots dotted on it, and the same fluorescent pink liquid oozing off of its toothy mouth. It kept screeching in pain, flopping around like a fish out of water.

"Huh," Janna hummed, "Who knew such a small thing can cause so much trouble."

"Yeah, I know," Hekapoo brought her foot up and squished the leech, grinding her foot just for good measure. She looked back to the others, "So, what happened?"

"You got bit by that thing, then turned into a butterfly monster that kept chasing me, and probably choked like a dozen students until they're unconscious." Marco explained, his voice so nonchalant, it was as if he wasn't the one that was hunted down by a lustful butterfly monster.

The beanie-clad girl patted his back, "And then you flew way up into the air with him, then he hugged you, and then you turned back to normal and crash landed into a car."

"Huh, really?" Hekapoo looked towards him, amazed he had taken on a butterfly monster by himself. "That's... kinda awesome," She smiled and softly punched him on the shoulder, "Thanks, Marco."

He smiled back, "Hey, that's what best friends are for."

The demon's smile widened even more at his words. "So, anything else happened while I was turned into a monster?" She suddenly asked.

"Oh. Uh, um..." Marco's smile immediately fell, quickly replaced by pursed lips, darting eyes, and really, _really_ red cheeks. So red, his face almost blended with his hoodie.

Hekapoo furrowed her eyebrows, "What? What did I do?"

"Uh..."

"Marco, what the heck did I do?"

"You, um..."

"Marco, tell me what the heck did I do! Marco! Marco!"

* * *

"You better have a good explanation." Glossaryck said, his arms crossed.

After the whole event in the parking lot (and after many failed attempts to get Marco to tell Hekapoo what in the heck she had done that had suddenly made him so abashed), the duo had decided to go home. Hekapoo called one of her many contacts to get their injuries treated. The doctor worked swiftly and efficiently, getting their injuries healed in just under an hour (though their way of treatment was a bit unconventional, something Marco wasn't fond of). Now, Hekapoo was sitting on her bed, being interrogated by Glossaryck about the whole Love Worm incident.

The demon took a deep breath, "Well, you see, I-"

"Aaaand I can already hear all the rehearsal you've gone through in your voice." Glossaryck cut her off, earning a frown from Hekapoo. "There's no point in lying Hekapoo. Just tell the truth."

With a sigh, she immediately conceded, "Alright. Me and Marco have been dimension-hopping for a while now with Necra's scissors that her dad for some reason gave to me, then Star had us run an errand for her in the Love Dimension for some lake water, and that's probably when I got bit."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Glossaryck sighed, "Hekapoo..."

Her frown deepened, "Look, Glossy, I'm really so-"

He raised a hand up to stop her, "No no, don't. I'm not mad nor disappointed at you, okay? Just... don't keep secrets from me from now on. Who knows what'll happen if you got a hold of some dangerous artifact and didn't tell me?"

She nodded meekly, "I understand, no more secrets."

"Good, now I'm not gonna take away your scissors, you can keep them."

Hekapoo perked up at his words, "Wait, really?"

He nodded, "Mhm, but only as long as it keeps you from your alcohol addiction and you don't put an entire dimension in danger."

She couldn't help but snort, "Don't worry, I'm far from doing that."

"Alright. Now, if you'll excuse me," he began rubbing his hands together, "It's pudding time!"

* * *

Night had fallen in Echo Creek once again. The sky this time was covered in dark clouds, blocking the shining stars above. If one would go outside, they could smell the incoming rain that threatened to poor down on anyone caught out. As usual, the streets were pretty much dead, save for the occasional stray cat that looked through trash cans for food.

Marco was sound asleep in his room, snuggled under the two thick blankets that kept him warm during cold nights. His snores were the only sounds that filled his dark room, which were thankfully quiet enough to not wake anyone else.

Suddenly, a creak of his door joined his snores. It was loud enough for him to hear through his sleep. Fluttering his eyes open, he propped his body up on his elbow. He rubbed the sleep away his eyes, then with a yawn, brought his sleepy gaze towards the figure peeking in from behind his door.

"Wha...? Hekapoo...?" He groggily said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at her.

"Hey... Marco..." She softly said, as if anything louder would scare him.

The boy raised an eyebrow, "What are you doing here...? We aren't going to talk until next week..."

Hekapoo shrugged, "Just... wanted to check up on you, is all."

His eyebrow raised even more at that. She had never got up late at night to just check up on him, so what made her do it now? It's not like he was being hunted by a bunch of assassins or anything.

He wanted to ask why, but seeing as it was late, and he really needed some rest after today, he decided against it. "Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine, but thanks anyway." He smiled at her.

His vision may have been a bit blurry, but he could see the line on her face curve upward, which he took as a smile. Yawning, he snuggled back in bed, "Well then, I'm gonna go back to sleep. I'll see ya in the morning, Hekapoo..."

It didn't take long for the boy to fall back to sleep, filling the room with his snores. Hekapoo, however, still stood at his door. Her gaze lingered on his sleeping figure, watching his blankets rise up and down from his snores. Something in the back of her mind, something very tiny, told her to walk in and do... something, anything. She didn't know why or how it was there, all she knew was that it was, well, there.

Ultimately, she ignored that thing. But it didn't stop her from letting her gaze linger for a moment more, and with a very faint red on her face, she walked away.

"See ya in the morning, Marco..."

* * *

Yeeeeaaah, I can totally see Glossaryck as a father figure to Hekapoo. He did create her, after all.

So that's the end of that chapter! Next one's gonna be Pixtopia, which means only one more chapter until you-know-what! Hooray!

Anyway, until next chap!

3051963


	9. Elf Your Wedding!

A/N: Hello! Yes, I'm alive! I have come back from the land of the dead!

So where have I been the last month? Long story short, I've been with a nasty streak of illnesses (fever, neck pains, headaches), got a bit depressed from stress (again, school sucks), and all over just been unmotivated.

But I managed to finish it! Isn't that neat? And with the next chapter being Blood Moon Ball, hopefully I won't take another month to put another chapter.

Speaking of motivation, please please please please **PLEASE** leave a review! The favorites and follows this story gets are cool and all, but seeing a new review pop up really keeps me motivated.

And please, don't sugarcoat your critique; go harsh on me, point out flaws, tell me the things you don't like about the chapter. I really want to improve as a writer, but I can't get better if every critique I get is as sugary and sweet as a chocolate cake with sprinkles.

Anyway, with that out of the way, enjoy this 17k word chapter.

6209163

* * *

Hekapoo Vs. The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 9: Elf Your Wedding!

* * *

Another Friday done, another weekend to look forward to. As usual, the entirety of Echo Creek was in reverse-rush-hour mode. Teens and kids of were all eager to get away from the glorified torture chamber that is school and go home, where they would kick back and relax without a care in the world. Well, for two days at least.

Joining these young, enthusiastic individuals were none other than Hekapoo and Marco along with his two other best friends Alfonzo and Fergurson. As they walked along the sidewalk, the trio of boys excitedly chatted about something they have been looking forward to all month: Kartio Mart Night!

It was known by most that the trio were huge video game "enthusiasts" (which is just their way of defending themselves that they weren't video game nerds). Almost every lunch when these guys sit together, they would always babble on about the new games that were coming out, or how they've finally killed a difficult boss in one. They even had heated debates on whether or not one game is better than the other, which caused quite a few embarrassing and regrettable scenes.

It's amazing these guys are still together after those.

Now with the month over, their proposed Kartio Mart Night was drawing near. It was supposed to be the "grandest" and "most amazing" night of the entire month, at least that was what Marco had said.

Of course, Hekapoo had serious doubts. From her experience on the massive, wonderful, and sometimes nightmare-inducing Internet, she was 100% sure that Kartio Mart Night was just going to be them slumping on the living room couch pressing buttons while eating an unhealthy amount of junk food, all while occasionally yelling at each other because someone threw a blue egg at them.

She honestly thought it was the stupidest thing ever. But hey, boys will be boys.

"Oh man, this night is gonna be awesome!" Ferguson exclaimed, excitedly throwing his fists up in the air.

Walking beside the pudgy boy, Alfonzo joined in on the hype. "Yeah, I know! I've been dying to try out the new course they put out. I heard they put in a lot of traps in this one, and a new secret too!"

Marco nodded. "Mhm, and I just prepared three whole bowls of my special nachos this morning, extra spicy and ready for heating." He raised a fist up, "So tonight men, we are going to feast!"

"Yeah!" The other two whooped, thrusting their own fists up in the air like they had just won a war.

Meanwhile, Hekapoo was walking alongside them, having tuned out their conversation a while ago. As opposed to the trio of bundled excitement, she was relatively quiet, staring ahead into seemingly nothing. Her hands were in her pockets, and her head hung down a bit, idly tracing a line on the sidewalk with her eyes. She looked like the average depressed person as opposed to her usual cool and calm demeanor.

Putting his arm back down, Marco turned away from the other two and took his attention towards the demon. "How about you, Hekapoo?" He asked, her downcast look unacknowledged to him.

His voice seemed to have snapped her out of her somber. Her head perked up almost immediately, and with raised eyebrows, her eyes darted towards him. "Hm?" She hummed.

"You wanna join us for Kartio Mart Night? It's gonna be fun!"

"Oh, um..." She looked past him and towards the other two, both staring at her expectedly, "Yeah... no thanks. I think I'll pass."

Fergurson quirked an eyebrow. "What, why? How could you pass up on Kartio Mart?"

"Yeah, do you not play video games or something?" Alfonzo added.

The demon shook her head. "No no, I do play video games. In fact, I used to play some Squash with Tom back when he was still my stepson. But other than that, I don't really have that much experience with video games, and unless you guys are willing to give up Kartio for Squash, then I'm not joining you guys."

Alfonzo's shoulder slumped a bit. "Aw, that's too bad." Then, he perked up, turning towards Marco, "But hey, there's still next month! Maybe then, we can change it up a bit and play some Squash so that your girlfriend here can join us."

Marco's eyes went wide as dinner plates. He could feel the heat rising up to his cheeks as he turned towards the glasses-wearing boy. "Alfonzo!" He chided.

"What? What did I do?" He asked, taken aback by his sudden rise in tone. Alfonzo darted his eyes between the flustered duo. The hoodie-clad boy's face was as red as Hekapoo's hair, and his eyebrows were slanting at him in slight anger. Beside him, the demon had turned her face away from the group, seemingly hiding a blush of her own as her fingers fidgeted awkwardly in front of her stomach.

It took Alfonzo a few seconds to figure out his slip up, and when he did, his eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Um... oops! Sorry, sort of slipped out, heh."

Marco sighed, "It's fine. Just... watch your words next time."

Unbeknownst to the three, Hekapoo had yet to turn back and face them. Although faded a bit, there was still a blush lingering on her face. But there was something else amongst the fluster. Her shoulders were slumped, her flame was dim, and her lips were curved down a bit, almost like she was frowning. And although small, there was a noticeable pinprick feeling inside her chest, like a microscopic needle poking at her insides.

She had no idea what had caused this feeling, nor why it gave it to her in the first place. And she had no intentions of finding out, thinking if she did, the feeling would somehow get worse. With a sigh, she shook her head and brought her gaze back up to the sidewalk ahead of them, pushing whatever that was way back into her mind.

The walk continued on quietly after that, the group back to doing what they were doing before as if nothing had happened. But that only lasted so long as suddenly, a bush they were walking past by rustled, catching the group's attention. The bush rustled once again, and this time they could hear very faint and frantic murmurs coming the plant - it sounded as if someone was shushing someone else.

"Uh..." Fergurson eyed the bush curiously and pointed at it, "Are bushes supposed to do that?"

Hekapoo practically glared daggers at the plant, having a good idea as to who was in that bush. "No, no they're not." She said, her words cold and stern.

She pushed past the boys and stomped towards it. It seemed like Lucitor and his group of other ex-husbands had completely lost their skills in hiding. First she had caught Buffgator under her bed, then she had caught Spacecat stalking her through the window with his jetpack, and now apparently, she's going to find one or two of them in a bush.

The demon tightened her fists as she closed in on the bush. "I swear, if one of these bozos is in this bush, I'm gonna-"

Before she could finish, a cloud of yellow, glittery dust suddenly puffed out of the bush. The cloud blew into her face, surprising her and making her stumble back away from it. It itched inside of her nose and throat like sandpaper, and she tried her best to cough and hack it all out.

After a while of coughing, her head started to feel a little lighter. Her vision was beginning to blur, and her knees were starting to buckle from under her own weight until finally, her legs gave in, and she fell to the pavement, completely out cold.

"Hekapoo!" The trio of boys shouted.

They all dashed towards her in worry, but that proved to be a big mistake. Another, even bigger cloud of yellow dust puffed out of the bush, catching the boys in it. The trio immediately stepped away and began coughing like they were asthmatic, and in only a few seconds, they met the same fate as their demon friend, losing consciousness and dropping hard onto the sidewalk.

The street stayed quiet as their slumbering bodies laid on the concrete. No cars, no dogs barking, no pedestrians, nothing; complete utter silence.

Which quickly broke when another rustle emanated from the bush, only this time it was of someone coming out. Exiting the cloud of leaves and thorns was a young woman. Her hair was red like blood, and her vanilla-toned face looked as if it belonged to a pretty young teenager, all of which were somewhat obstructed by a deep red cloak. A similarly colored leather tunic fit her womanly curves well, and a pair of dark brown pants, tucked into a pair of brown boots, covered her shapely legs.

When her crimson red gaze fell upon the bodies on the floor, she smirked and snapped her gloved fingers. On cue, two similarly looking women stepped out of the bush, both carrying a small sack and a bamboo tube. Though they looked similar, it was obvious that there were a few key differences. As opposed to the one in front's red pallete, the other two wore green-colored outfits and had leaf-green hair, and along with those came two masks that obstructed their mouths and noses, something the first didn't have.

As the pair holstered their weapons on their belts, the red-colored woman made her away around the bodies, careful not to step on anybody. She passed by Hekapoo, then Alfonzo, then Fergurson, before finally stopping beside Marco.

She gazed upon the boy's sleeping figure, running her eyes up and down his body as if inspecting him. The setting sunlight rested delicately upon his face, giving it a mythical glow that made his features just a bit more attractive to her than it should be. And even if they were shut, she could feel his eyes staring right into her very soul, a pair which could definitely make even the coldest of people have butterflies in their stomachs.

With a smile, she reached up to her cloak and took it off, revealing her red, ponytailed hair in full to the world. Along with that, the large horrible scar that ran through her left eye was no longer obstructed, contrasting with her soft vanilla face. And strangely enough, instead of the normal human ears one would think she would have, large pointy ears took their places instead, making her look like an elf of some sort.

She pointed at Marco. "That's the one, right there."

One of the green-colored pair looked down upon the boy, and raised an eyebrow, "Um... Velvet, are you sure that's the one? I mean, he looks way, _waaay_ too-"

"What did I say about questioning me, hm?" She cut her off, annoyance dripping off her voice, "That is definitely the one. He's got a mole, brown hair, a red hoodie, and everything else in the queen's description. Now come on, let's get him back to the castle before these other bozos wake up."

With curt nods, the two green-colored women complied and proceeded to pick him up. One of them carried his upper body on her shoulder while the other carried his legs on hers.

Getting nods of confirmation from the two, the red-colored elf pulled out a pair of dimensional scissors from her pocket and ripped a portal in front of them. The pair marched towards the portal, carrying Marco's body through it before disappearing to the other side.

The red-colored elf followed right behind them, but before she stepped through, she took a glance back at the demon behind her. Her breaths raised and fell in slow intervals, and her body was completely unmoving; from afar, it looked like she was just sleeping very soundly.

The red-colored elf let out a laughing breath and smirked. "No wonder they put you here," She turned back to the portal, "Can't even do your job right."

She took one last step beyond the portal, and finally disappeared to the other side. The portal quickly closed afterwards, leaving the three remaining bodies on the sidewalk in a deafening silence.

* * *

Blobs of light slowly popped up in the darkness of Hekapoo's eyelids, increasing in size every second. Groaning in annoyance, she tried to turn her head away, only to feel something rough and hard press against her cheek, kind of like concrete, instead of the soft pillow she expected.

Hekapoo furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. Now somewhat awake from the mystery, she slowly pried her eyes open, blinking away the bluriness around her. Once it was clear enough though, her confusion onyly grew bigger.

She wasn't in her room, and she was definitely sure she wasn't even in the house.

As her haze grew further, she groggily lifted her body up from off the ground, sitting up straight. Her back was as stiff as board, her head ached a bit, and her nose and throat were strangely itchy.

She took a minute to recover herself before scanning her surroundings. The area around her was dim, and the some of the houses were already lit up for the fast approaching evening. There was no one around, save for the one guy coming home late from work just down the street, though she doubted he could see them in the dimness.

As she tried to make sense of everything, two waking groans behind her caught her attention. Alfonzo and Fergurson weakly pushed their bodies off the sidewalk, clutching on their heads as they continued to awake from their sleepy hazes.

"Oh man... Ugh... I'm having like the biggest headache right now." Fergurson moaned as he soothed his throbbing temples.

Beside him, Alfonzo blinked the bluriness in his eyes away and adjusted his glasses, looking no better than his friend. "W-what happened...?"

"I have no idea..." Hekapoo continued to look around, failing to make sense of the situation. They woke up in the middle of a sidewalk blocks away from Marco's house, that alone was enough to jam the gears in her mind. Not to mention the strange bush beside her, which for some reason stood out from the rest of everything. Why? She didn't know.

"How about you, Marco? Do you have any idea what happened?" She asked.

Nothing; he didn't respond. The demon asked again, only to get more strange silence from him.

"Uh, Marco?" With a raised eyebrow, she turned around to face him, only to find out he wasn't there at all. The only other people she was with were Alfonzo and Fergurson; there were no signs of Marco anywhere.

Worry started flooding her mind as she darted her eyes everywhere, searching for him. She got up on her feet, her movements wobbly from her still lingering daze, and began calling out to him.

"Marco! Marco!"

As she began her frantic calls, the two boys noticed their missing friend as well. They wobbled their way up to their feet the same way the demon had, and joined in on her search for Marco.

"Marco! Where are you?"

"Marco! Where are you, bud? Marco!"

"Marco! Marco! _Marco!_ " Hekapoo glanced over everywhere for what could be the fourth time, yet there was still no sign of him at all.

She could feel her breath quickening, and her hands shaking from worry-turned-fear. Where the heck is he? Did he bail on them? Was this just some sort of prank he was playing on them? It couldn't be; Marco would never do something like that.

Thoughts - _horrifying_ thoughts - started flooding her mind as her worry only grew more rampant. She could already feel an emotional breakdown coming; seconds more, and she would probably collapse.

Thankfully for her, that didn't happen. Her eyes managed to glance over the strange bush right beside her, where she got a glimpse of something stuck between a bunch of twigs.

Her rampant worry subsided a bit as she approached the bush with caution, eyeing the mysterious item curiously. From a distance, it was a dark brown and looked circular. Half of it was barely visible - she was surprised she even noticed it.

Stopping by the bush, the demon yanked the item out and began inspecting it closely. It looked like some sort of patch made out of a very thin leather, kind of like the small ones kid scouts would have sewn on to their sashes, only a bit bigger.

There was nothing quite special about it; it was just a plain brown, designless patch.

That is, until she flipped it around.

Against a sterile white background were numerous intricate and swirly designs, all in a yellow shiny enough to be gold. It was quite eye-catching, but so needlessly fancy and detailed just for a patch. She didn't care though; she was more interested on the most distinct feature of the whole thing.

"QE..." The demon growled, her words practically drowning in venom. She could recognize those initials from anywhere, and it never failed to tick her off every time.

' _Of course it would be_ _**her...**_ _'_

Her teeth grinded in fury. She could feel her blood literally boiling inside of her as she crumpled the patch in her hand and set it ablaze, reducing it to nothing but a pile of worthless ashes.

Alfonzo and Fergurson watched in fear as the infuriated demon pulled out her dimensional scissors and began ripping a portal open. They didn't know what had exactly ticked her off; all they knew was that they needed to be careful around such angry Hekapoo.

"Uh..." Fergurson stammered, "W-what's going on now?"

As she yanked her scissors from the air, portal materialized right in front of her. "I know where he is..." She said, her voice spine-chillingly cold, "I know _exactly_ where he is."

The demon turned back to the other two, her fiery gaze piercing them like a pair of daggers. "Now, are staying here or are you coming with me?"

OoOoO================================

The boys stepped emerged from the portal and landed upon a dirt path, surrounded by an oak forest. The trees were giant and extremely dense, and seemed to stretch on for miles on end. They could see small critters of different kinds running around in the grass and bushes, ranging from small squirrels to jumpy rabbits. Behind them, the sun was on its way down the horizon, its golden rays landing upon the bushy canopy and giving the forest a soft and cozy feel.

They gaped at everything in awe, amazed at such beauty surrounding them. But that was just the forest; the main attraction was just a walking distance away from where they stood, and when they brought their attention to it, their gaping mouths practically dropped to the floor.

A marvelous marble castle stood tall right in the center of a massive kingdom. It reached high up into the sky, and could nearly touch the clouds. They didn't know if the structure itself was tall, or it was perched on top of a massive hill.

Either way, it was _tall._

What added more to the spectacularity was the entire aesthetic of the structure. The marble walls were as white as snow and obviously well-kept; no noticeable spots or signs of deterioration of any kind as far as they could see. And contrasting with the near sterile whiteness were the numerous crown mouldings, window frames, spires, marble gargoyles, and so many more painted in a golden color. They were so shiny and reflective, a thief could easily mistake them for being made out of actual gold.

And thanks to the setting sun, the castle managed to glow majestically under its golden haze, making it even more awestriking than it already was.

But that was all they could see from there, as between them and the grand castle stood a tall gray brick wall that seemed to surround the entire kingdom. Even from where they stood, the massive fortification easily towered over them, and judging by its massive height, it was possible it was as thick as, or even thicker than a 20-inch blast door. The dirt path where they stood led to a giant and intimidating iron gate, blocking the kingdom off to any outsiders. It looked like it could withstand several hits from a cannon, or even high explosive shots from a tank.

If this was where they were supposed to go, they sure as heck ain't getting in that easy.

As they brought their eyes back down, they only now noticed that the furious demon was nowhere to be seen. Frantic, they started searching around for any signs of her, hoping to everything holy she hadn't been straight up arrested by some royal guard, or even worse...

That wasn't the case, thankfully, as Alfonzo managed to bring his seeking gaze over to the right-hand side of the kingdom walls, where he caught Hekapoo stomping her way through the grass, the flame above her head glowing a menacing red. Quickly, the two boys strayed off the dirt path and ran after her. It took a few minutes to catch up to the demon, and when they did, they stopped just five meters away from her. Hekapoo was still angry, and they weren't getting burnt like chickens on an unknown dimension just because they said something the wrong way.

However, with her fast pace, they could only keep up for a short amount of time before they had to run up to her again, which, for Fergurson, was getting a bit exhausting.

"H-Hey, Hekapoo!" He called out, panting, "Can you maybe slow down a bit? Getting a bit tired here."

The demon stopped her stomping, prompting the two boys to stop as well. They could see her shoulders rising up and down from her heavy breathing, and her fists shaking from how tight she was clenching them. The two gulped as they stood frozen, fearing that Fergurson may have somehow ticked her off.

Fortunately for them, they get to live another day as her breathing gradually calmed down to a normal pace, and her fists loosened. The redness in her flame faded way too, going back to its usual orange color.

"...sorry."

That was all the demon said before she continued making her down the kingdom walls, only a lot calmer than before. Taking it as a good sign, the two walked up to the demon's sides, still cautious in case they thought wrong of her calmness.

She paid them no mind, thankfully, as she seemed more interested at the wall. Curiosity struck them, and they both looked up towards her face. Though sedated, her expression was still hard and cold as a rock by a ricer, and her eyes kept darting around the gray bricks of the wall, like she was searching for something.

"Uh..." Alfonzo stammered, earning a curious side glance from Hekapoo, "Can... you explain what's happening here?"

The demon brought her gaze back to the wall. "Queen Elfina." She responded, her voice cold like winter.

"Queen... who...?" Fergurson asked.

She let out a soft but clearly irritated sigh. "Queen Elfina," She repeated, "She's the one who had Marco kidnapped and for some reason intends to marry him."

Alfonzo's eyebrow arched up. "Whoa, wait, marry him? Why?"

"Yeah, why would anyone want to marry... him?" Fergurson asked.

Shaking her head, Hekapoo let out another sigh. "Do I really have to explain to these two...?" She muttered to herself.

With a deep breath, she lifted her head back up, and began to explain, "Years ago, before I came to Earth, Queen Elfina was imprisoned by the Commission for the kidnapping of several kings around the multiverse, and somehow, she escaped. We sent search parties after her, but no one came back with her in cuffs. Then when years passed without any sign of her, we just dropped the search and declared her dead."

She continued, "But... it looks like she's back from the dead and decided to kidnap Marco, then held herself up in her own frickin' kingdom because she's that much of a pretty little queen."

Alfonzo narrowed his eyes. "Wait... why didn't you guys like... shut this place down?"

The demon shook her head. "We couldn't. By the time we arrested Elfina, there was already a new queen in her place, who probably dethroned herself once she came back. Plus, even if they didn't have a queen, we still had to deal with a whole kingdom's worth of her loyal subjects that wouldn't give the kingdom up no matter what."

Fergurson cupped his chin in thought. "So... in short, we're dealing with a supposedly dead and really lonely elf queen who wants to marry Marco, and has lots and lots of power."

Hekapoo nodded. "That pretty much sums it up. Now come on," She beckoned the two to speed up, "Let's see if we can get past this wall."

* * *

After what felt like hours of nothing but black, a yellow light was beginning to pierce through Marco's eyelids, growing brighter the more his senses came back. He could feel the softness of a bed under him, and he could feel a cool breeze brush past his face occasionally.

Although the mild itchiness in both his nose and throat were quite strange, his sense of smell was starting to come back as well. The aroma of newly laundered fabric was around him, cementing the fact he was indeed on a bed, and he could still smell the cologne he put on in the morning, which in itself was weird.

But not as weird as the strong smell of roses beside him.

With roses being his favorite flower, he had the scent practically screwed into his mind, and he could tell what was beside him was definitely a bundle of roses. Marco furrowed his eyebrows at this. He didn't remember putting roses in his room - he wasn't even sure he _had_ a vase to put them in.

Now awoken by his confusion, he fluttered his eyes open, intending to solve this new found mystery. At least, that was what he thought would happen, as when his vision was cleared of its blurriness, he was left even more muddled than he was before.

 _'This isn't my room...'_

Indeed, it wasn't. From what his dazed mind could tell, he was in a master bedroom of some sorts, the giant crystal chandelier hanging from the center of the room further cementing the idea. It was quite spacious, and looked like it was big enough to fit at least two elephants in it. Gold framed paintings of different sizes hung from the marble walls, containing people he either couldn't recognize or had never met before. Beside the bed, a drawer in white and gold held up a similarly colored vase, and tucked in it with care were the bundle of roses that had awoken him mere minutes ago. Across the room opposite of him were a grand set of doors that reached up to the ceiling, and on the wall behind him were two glass doors leading to separate balconies, each one at his sides.

If he hadn't woken up on the massive bed with no recollection of what happened to him, his jaw would have dropped onto the bed from the sheer awe the magnificent room gave off.

But he did, and he was more confused than awestruck.

Feeling the muck in his eyes, he tried to lift his hand up to rub them away, but found it being tugged back, followed by a clanking sound. Raising his eyebrow, he brought his gaze down on it, and saw a cuff locked tight around his wrist, chained to the golden bedframe behind him.

"Uh..." Marco tried tugging on it once more, which only earned him more clanking sounds from the chain. His eyes widened in fear and his breath quickened from his rising panic. He started pulling on the chain more and more, each with more force than the last. But it was no use; his wrist stayed bound to the bedframe no matter how hard he pulled.

Then suddenly, he heard a click coming from the doors. His panicked gaze darted towards them, and he saw one of the doors opening. Frantically, he tried to snuggle back into the blanket, hoping whoever was entering wouldn't see him awake.

But that failed.

"Ah, you're awake!" Came a sweet, melodic voice.

Marco raised an eyebrow under the blanket. He expected the voice of his captor to be more gruff and deep, which was why he was surprised when he heard that sugary, calming, and most definitely female voice.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he lifted his eyes over the blanket with caution, seeing if he could get a glimpse of his captor. Approaching him with a silver tray in her hands was a rather short woman, reaching up to his nose, most likely. Her short, curly golden hair reflected the yellow light from the chandelier, bouncing up and down as she practically skipped towards the bed. And placed on top of it was an equally golden crown, encrusted with two small rubies and one larger ruby on the front - with its small size though, it looked more like a tiara than a crown. Her skin was milky white, and even from where he laid, it looked as soft as a fluffy pillow. And lastly, a white, elegant dress flowed freely down to her silver flats, fitting her somewhat curvy body like a glove.

It wouldn't be wrong to say Marco was a bit awestruck. He could even go far to say she was absolutely beautiful, but considering the situation he was in, he chose not to.

Once the mysterious woman approached his bedside, she moved the vase on the drawer aside and placed the tray down. There was a silver cover on it, likely hiding some sort of meal under it, along with a few utensils and a glass of orange juice.

The mysterious woman was rearranging some utensils around while humming a tune. Being so close to him now, Marco could see more details on her face. Her eyes were, like her hair, a golden hazel, full of liveliness and joy. And accompanied by her cherry red smile, it made her face light up like a sunny day. But the thing that fascinated him most were her big, pointy ears. Every time a gust of wind whizzed past them, they would flap around for a bit until it passes. With her ears and her short height together, he guessed she was an elf of some kind.

Once satisfied with her handiwork, the woman clapped her hands and turned to him. "So, Marco, is it?" She cheerfully asked.

The boy flinched from her sudden acknowledgment of him, and stammered, "I- Uh... Um... Y-Yes?"

"Great! Now, you must be asking who I am and where you are in your mind, so let me introduce myself..."

The woman placed a hand to her chest. "I am Elf Queen Elfina of the Kingdom of Lyruu! And you, my dear, are in my royal bedroom!"

Marco narrowed his eyes. "Why does 'Lyruu' sound so familiar?" He muttered to himself.

The elf queen proceeded to sit down on the side of the bed, placing her soft and delicate hand on his leg. His face instantly went warm at the contact, and he tried his best to act natural.

"Now, you may ask, 'What am I doing here?'. Well, it's simple really," She scooted closer to him, reddening his already flushed face even more, "You see, I'm a queen, and every queen needs a king. If you look around, you don't really see a king, do you?"

Marco scanned the room. "No... not really."

"And that is why you are here today, Marco." She leaned closer to him and took his unchained hand into hers, "I want you to be my king..."

The blush in his face instantly faded away at her proposal. Eyes widening, he yanked his hand away. "Whoa wait, what? You want me to be your king?"

The elf queen was a bit taken aback at his sudden questioning. "Y-Yeah," She said, her voice quivering a bit, "I did say it was simple. All you need to do is to marry me, that's it."

"Um..." Marco began nervously rubbing his chained arm, "Your Majesty, as much as I'd like to, I... can't."

"W-what, why? Why won't you marry me? Is it my beauty? Am I not beautiful enough for you? Or was it the roses? Are they not your favorite? Because I swear, I told the staff not to send the ro-"

Marco waved a hand to stop her. "No no, E-Elfina, it's not that. I can't marry you because, well, I literally can't. I mean, I'm like, what, fifteen? And since you're a queen, I'm guessing you're at least above twenty-five. If I marry you, I'm pretty sure you'll get imprisoned and put on a watchlist, and I don't want that to happen to someone beautiful like you."

The queen stared in sorrow at him. Tears formed in her eyes, one of them already making its way down her cheek. Marco didn't know what to do at that point; he wasn't prepared to deal with a girl crying from rejection. Pulling out all the romantic skills he had from watching romance movies, he reached a hand out to her shoulder, hoping to everything magical it wouldn't backfire on him.

But as his hand neared her shoulder, the queen suddenly sighed and hung her head low, to which Marco drew his arm back in surprise.

"I-I... I understand." She said behind her bangs.

Marco arched an eyebrow. "Wait, you do?" He glanced to the side, "Huh, that was easy."

"Which is why I'm gonna hypnotize you."

"Whoa wait, what?!" Those were his last words uttered before Elfina sent a hard punch to his face, sending him into a daze.

Swiftly, she hopped off the bed and over to the tray on the drawer. She yanked the silver cover away from its plate and grabbed the syringe that was underneath it. While the boy was still dazed, the queen tapped the needle and squirted a bit of dark green fluid into the air. Glancing over the groaning boy once more, she huffed out a quick calming breath and thrusted the needle into his neck.

"Ack! Ah! Hey, what the heeeeee..." His vision started darkening, and his head began feeling light. All of his senses started leaving his body, one by one as the world began spinning around him. The queen's golden blonde hair was the last thing he saw before finally, his fell back onto the pillow and into the land of the unconscious.

Looking down onto his knocked out body, Elfina smirked evilly. She put the syringe back onto the plate, then knelt down beside the bed, leaning into his ear.

"Now listen here," She whispered, her voice was soft as the wind, "You, Marco Ubaldo Diaz, have been my boyfriend for over five years. We lived happy lives together, playing around in the fields and going on dinners. You love me, and I love you. Now, we're getting married today, and there's nothing that will change your mind about it. We're going to get married, rule the kingdom together as king and queen, live even happier lives, have kids, and raise them to be the perfect princes and princesses. You and I will love each other, and it will stay that way for the rest of our lives and afterlives.

"I'm going to marry you... no matter what..." His unconscious self mumbled out after her.

Seeing her plan had worked, she smiled and pulled out a single key from one of her dress pockets. "Keys to the chain. Your suit is in the wardrobe by the door." She pecked him on the cheek, "I'll meet your handsome face at the altar."

She delicately placed the key in his palm, making sure to feel his hand as she did so, before standing up and skipping her way to the door, happy as a would-be married queen could ever be.

* * *

After a while of walking along the kingdom wall, the trio had finally found a way in; a literal crack in the wall, just big enough for all of them to squeeze through it. They were quite lucky to have found it, because if they haven't, they would most likely have to scale the wall and risk getting caught. Once they made it to the other side, they wasted no time getting to the castle, and with Hekapoo having been in the kingdom years before, directions weren't a problem.

The kingdom's aesthetics were similar in style to ones from the medieval times - wattle and daub houses, cobblestone roads, and typical shops and services like taverns, forgeries, and food vendors. Strangely, as lively-looking as the town is, there were no signs of life anywhere, not even guards. It was like everyone had just up and left - there were even a few shops left unlocked for any wandering thief who happened to roam around the place.

It wasn't problem for them though. And with no guards around, it just made getting to the castle a lot easier. After a while of running through alleyways and roads, the trio finally made it to one of the castle's back doors.

Pushing the door ajar, they took a peek inside. The door led to a long hallway with doors scattered about at the sides, which turned left at the very end. Seeing no one inside, they creeped their way in, with Hekapoo leading the other two.

"Marco's most definitely gonna be in that prissy queen's royal bedroom." Hekapoo said, "It's on the top floor of the castle. There's a stairwell nearby we can use, come on."

The trio continued sneaking throughout the halls, the demon's eyes vigilant for any patrolling guards. Similar to the outside of the castle, the walls were in a beautiful combination of marble white and shiny gold, leaving the two boys behind her gaping in awe at such grandeur once again. And this was just the back side of the castle, they could only imagine what the throne room would look like.

Their awestruck glancing was cut short however when Hekapoo suddenly stopped in front of them. Too busy being amazed, they accidentally bumped into Hekapoo's back, earning a grunt and an annoyed hush from her. She pointed down the hall, bringing their eyes over to an approaching guard, covered head-to-toe in typical iron armor. The guard seemed to be busy with checking things on a scroll, busy enough to not notice the group of intruders just a distance down the hall.

Hekapoo nudged Alfonzo with her elbow, and pointed towards a door a few steps in front of them, slightly ajar. As quick as a cat, she dashed her way towards it and got inside, prompting the other two to frantically follow her, tripping on each other on the way.

They got inside, and after settling behind after, Hekapoo closed the door and gripped on the handle. She could hear the clanking of the guard's armor to her left side, gradually getting louder until it started coming from right outside the door. Suddenly, the sounds stopped to a halt. Much smaller clanking noises came from behind the door now, and the demon guessed the guard was glancing around now, searching for something. Hearts pacing, they held their breaths as Hekapoo tightened her grip on the door handle, ready to bash the guard if he were to approach it. The seconds annoyingly dragged on, but after a minute or so, the guard seemingly stopped his impromptu search and continued his walk down the wall, clanking noises fading to the right until it was quiet once again.

The trio let out sighs of relief. Hekapoo cautiously opened the door and poked her head through. Seeing that the coast was clear, she snuck out into the hallway once again, beckoning the other to follow.

The rest of the way was uneventful, and it only took a few more twists and turns before they reached the staff stairwell leading up to the highest floor. It was a very tall spiral set of stairs, and from where they stood at the bottom, they could barely see the top. Although only lit up by torches, the stairwell still maintained the overall aesthetic of the castle - marble walls and golden designs, with even golden railings to boot.

Wasting no time, the trio began their ascent. Though the staggering height of the stairwell was a bit of an annoyance to her, Hekapoo was having an easy time climbing up the stairs, having way better stamina and all.

But for the two boys behind her, not only was climbing up dozens of flights annoying, it was exhausting, _extremely_ exhausting for Fergurson. Hekapoo and Alfonzo had to stop and assist a collapsed Fergurson at least two times during the whole climb.

Though they had wasted a few precious minutes, they managed to reach to the top of the stairwell, where a door leading to the highest floor was. Once they reached it, Hekapoo took a quick but careful peek inside. From what she could see, the door lead to another long hallway, and she couldn't see anyone on the other side. Taking it as a sign it was clear, she snaked through the door, with the two boys following with equal caution.

However, once they took a few steps into the hallway, a gruff voice called out from the trio's right. "Hey, you three! What are you doing here?!"

Their eyes went wide as dinner plates, and snapping their gazes to the side, they could see another armored guard down in a previously obscured hallway, running after them.

The trio gasped in surprise, and began running down the other hallway. They could hear the quickened clanking of the guard's armor behind them as he continued to shout out demands to stop. They weren't going to though, and instead picked up their paces, trying to get some distance between them and the guard.

But their chaser was persistent and fast. No matter how many twists and turns the trio took, the guard always be a few meters behind them, and with two-thirds of them being only human, it wouldn't take long before they get captured from exhaustion.

Fortunately, by some miracle, Hekapoo was able to spot another opened door down the hallway in her haste.

She shot her finger towards it. "Over there, quick!"

Dashing towards it, the demon swung the door open and hurried the other two inside, getting herself inside afterwards with a slam of the door. The mildly dark room they were now in was full of various weapons and armor pieces - some of them neatly placed on designated racks and barrels while some were just tossed into a pile on the floor. They must have hurried into an armory or storage room of sorts.

The trio scrambled around in the dark for a hiding spot, occasionally bumping into a barrel or an armor stand. Even with Hekapoo's flame, it was quite hard maneuver through the room without walking into anything.

Fergurson squinted eyes darted around in the mild darkness, frantically searching for a suitable hiding spot. He turned to his left, and caught sight of a group of barrels right by a wall of hanging racks, and behind them was a small space that looked big enough for all of them to fit in.

"Guys, we can hide over there!" He called, pointing towards the barrels.

The other two dashed towards the barrels right behind Fergurson. They quickly got onto their knees and crawled into the small space, making sure their bodies were entirely hidden behind the barrels.

Hekapoo could hear their pursuer's armor clanking outside the room, before a loud crash and squeak followed right after. A ray of light quickly appeared on the wall opposite of them, and along with it came the searching shadow of the guard. They all held their breaths, with the demon dimming her flame a bit.

Metallic footsteps echoed throughout the room. The trio watched motionlessly as the guard's shadow moved with each step, slowly moving to their left until it vanished into the darkness. Then, a second later, the guard himself popped into their view, his head and upper body being the only things they could see as they reflexively cowered further into their hiding place.

The guard turned his gaze to the left, then the right, then behind them. For a long, nerve-racking while, he just stood there, scanning everything around him. Hekapoo fought the urge to just fireball him right then and there. But she had to remind herself not to; with hallways as quiet as an ant, the guard's screams could reach the other side of the castle, and that would alert a lot more guards of their presence. She didn't want that.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the guard seemingly gave up on his search. Removing his gaze from an obscured weapon rack, the guard grumbled in annoyance and swiftly disappeared from their sights.

Once they heard the guard's clanking footsteps fading away, the trio let out sighs of relief. Fergurson wiped a bit of sweat from his forehead and slouched against the wall behind him. However, he failed to notice the row of hanging chains behind him, and when his back met with what he thought was a wall, loud chiming sounds echoed throughout the room, drowning out the guard's footsteps.

The other two beside him gasped. "Fergurson!"

Quick clanking footsteps followed after. They looked back up towards the ray of light and saw the guard's shadow, bobbing up and down faster than before.

And before they knew it, the guard's head came into view, looking at them. "There you are!"

The trio gasped. With quick reflexes, Hekapoo snapped a fireball to life and shot at the guard. It tore through the air like an arrow and hit guard dead center in his face, causing hisses and sparks to fly around before they stumbled and fell on a pile of armor.

"Quick, let's go!" Hekapoo jumped up from her spot and vaulted over the barrels. The two boys quickly followed after her, moving around the barrels instead.

The trio dashed past the groaning guard and charged out of the room, immediately getting spotted by two guards to the left hallway. Shouting at them, the guards gave chase, prompting the three of them to run down the other hallway.

Just like before, they ran with all their legs could give them, rounding corners to try to shake them off their tails. It was ultimately useless though, as every time they glanced back, the guards would be halfway through the hallway already. The situation got even worse when they managed to get the attention of two more guards, both idly chatting to each other before one of them got a glimpse of the trio down the hallway.

This wasn't good at all.

Hekapoo tried her best to keep them at bay with her fireballs, but with her mind flooded with thoughts of escape which was putting her off her focus, she couldn't hit any one of them. And when she did hit one, it was only a small injury that barely put them off their feet.

The chase went on like that for a while. Unlike the persistent demon in front of them, Alfonzo and Fergurson were having a hard time keeping on their feet, panting and sweating like crazy. Any more running, and Fergurson might knock himself out.

Luckily, after turning another corner, Alfonzo was able to spot another open door. "Hey guys, over there!"

Seeing the door, the trio made a mad dash towards it. They entered the room in haste and slammed the door shut afterwards. Not long after the door was closed that several knocks and bangs came from outside, and both Hekapoo and Alfonzo had to lean against it to block the guards.

The demon clenched her teeth as she put all of her weight onto the wooden door. "So, do you guys have any ideas on how to get outta here? 'Cause I got nothing!" She asked, stumbling on her feet when a hard bang knocked her forward a bit.

"Uh..." Fergurson frantically glanced around the room, trying to find a way to escape. There was nothing though; all he could see were a wall of bookshelves and a desk and chair with a single lamp. There were no windows, no other entrances, and if there were hidden passages in the room, the guards would have already got in before they could find one.

After another scan of the room, his eyes fell upon the two at the door. They were struggling to keep the door shut - even Hekapoo was beginning to slip and slide with every knock and bang. It seemed that over time, more guards had come to aid the ones already there, judging by the increased amount of demanding voices. If the two were to take a breather for even nanosecond, a dozen, possibly even more armored guards would be pouring into the room like sand, and they would have no chance of escape.

His eyes shifted between them once more as their feet slowly slid along the floor. Seeing their fatigued figures, he took a deep breath.

He knew what needed to be done.

"Open the door."

Expectedly, Alfonzo snapped his head towards his friend, his eyebrows furrowed. "Whoa wait, what? Open the door? Fergurson, are you crazy?"

"Yes, I am. Look, I'll distract the guards so that you guys can find Marco and bring him home. And afterwards, you can find me and bring me home."

Hekapoo faced him now, trying to form a confused face amongst her gritted teeth. "Uh, Fergurson, no offense, but your body is _not_ fit for running. I don't think you can outrun a dozen trained, armored guards. You could barely make it up the stairs."

He shook his head. "Hekapoo, Alfonzo, I was the one who brought you guys into this mess in the first place, so it's only right that I at least try to get you out of it. And no, you guys won't change my mind about this no matter what."

The two stared at the boy in mild confusion and obvious worry. Fergurson had put on a stern and courageous face, his fists on his hips and his chest puffing out. From years of being friends, Alfonzo knew it would take a lot to convince him to reconsider, and judging by the growing voices outside, they had no time to argue.

Alfonzo sighed. "Alright, I'll let you do it."

The demon furrowed his eyebrows at him now. "Whoa wait, what?"

Fergurson closed his eyes and nodded at Alfonzo. "Thank you, my friend."

"Um, are we actually letting Fergurson out there?"

"Alright, Hekapoo," Alfonzo shifted his body around so that he was facing the door, "On the count of three, let go of the door, okay?"

"Uh... okay?" Hekapoo did the same as him, shifting her body around so that she was facing the door and holding the handle, "Hey, just so you know, I never agreed to any of this."

"Okay, count of three, one... two..."

Fergurson took one last deep breath before turning back to Alfonzo, saluting him. "Wish me luck, comrade."

He nodded back, "Good luck to you, comrade. And... three!"

Alfonzo jumped away from the door as Hekapoo swung it open, revealing the crowd of armored guards outside. Fergurson let out a loud roar and immediately charged towards the mass of armor. The guards gasped as they saw the boy charge towards them like a bull. They tried to jump away, but they were too compressed to move, resulting in Fergurson hitting the foremost guard and sending them flying into the others behind them, causing all of them to tumble like dominoes.

Fergurson glanced for only a second at the downed guards before he bolted down the hall. It took a few moments for the guards to snap from their dazes, and when they saw the boy disappear into a corner, they quickly stumbled onto their feet and ran after him, completely forgetting about the other two.

Once they were sure all the guards were gone, Hekapoo and Alfonzo took a peek outside, fully stepping out of the room when the coast was clear. They listened to the guards' distant metallic footsteps as they faded down the hallway, growing softer until they were no more.

"Godspeed, Fergurson. Godspeed." Alfonzo said as he gave a salute to the hall his friend had disappeared into.

The demon raised an eyebrow at him before shaking her head. "Man, you guys are fricking weird." She turned around and started walking down the hall behind them, "Now come on, let's go find Marco before they come back for us."

Alfonzo nodded at that and joined up with her. Now that they didn't have a crowd of guards chasing after them, they could get to Marco much quicker without having to trail off and hide somewhere. And just after a few minutes of running and rounding corners, they made it to the hallway where the royal bedroom was.

"There it is!" Hekapoo pointed towards the set of extravagant doors just at the end of the hallway.

Wasting no time, the two dashed towards them. Once there, Hekapoo immediately sent a powerful kick to one of the doors, breaking the lock and nearly sending it off its hinges.

"Marco, we're here! Let's get you out of-" Hekapoo and Alfonzo halted just a few feet from the door and stared confusedly at the scene before them, "-here..."

In front of them, Marco was facing a mirror, trying to pin a rose to his chest. He was wearing a suit of some sort, very similar to one a boat captain would wear. It seemed to follow the same design as everything they have seen so far; it's fabric was a blinding white, and the buttons, epaulettes, and everything else were golden in color. Lastly, a pair of white pants and shoes joined up with the suit, though being only a plain white and nothing else made them look less appealing as opposed to the flashy top part of the suit.

When the two barged into the room, Marco had yet to notice them. It took a few seconds before he looked up from his rose and saw the two behind him in the mirror.

"Oh, hey! Hekapoo, Alfonzo!" He exclaimed cheerfully as he turned around to face them, "What are you guys doing here? I don't think anyone is allowed to see the groom before the wedding."

Alfonzo's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Uh, Marco, what are you wearing?"

"Oh this?" He gestured to his suit, "Well, it's my wedding suit of course! If you guys forgot, I'm marrying Elfina today!"

Not only did his statement confuse Hekapoo even more, it sent a shot of worry that surged throughout her chest.

With narrowed eyes, she asked, "Marco, you're joking, right?"

"Joking? Of course not! Why would ever I joke about my wedding? Plus, you guys know that I'm horrible at jokes."

Marco turned to face the mirror again, going back to adjusting his rose. As he turned around, Hekapoo was able to notice a small dark green, rash-like spot on the side of his neck. She had also been able to notice the change in his eye color during their conversation; instead of being the brown color they were before, they were now a dark green color, similar to the rash on his neck.

 _'Uh oh...'_ Hekapoo thought. Those green eyes, that rash on his neck; she had seen those on the kings the MHC had rescued years ago.

She knew exactly what was going on with him.

"Marco, listen to me." She quickly walked up to him and turned him around, eliciting a yelp from him.

Her hands were gripping firmly on his shoulders as she spoke to him, "Dude, you are being hypnotized. That Elfina jerk injected hypno-fluid into your neck and now you have it running through your brain, that's why you have that green rash on your neck."

Marco raised an eyebrow at her, clearly taken aback by her statement. "What? Hypno-fluid? Hekapoo, I think you've hit your head on a rock again," He pulled her hands down from his shoulders, "Elfina would never do that to me. She loves me too much to ever do that to me. Plus, she said I got this rash when we went out to the forest yesterday, which, coming from her, is totally believable."

Alfonzo walked up to Hekapoo's side and looked at Marco with worried eyes. "Marco, everything she's saying is true. You _have_ been hypnotized. Your love for that elf queen is not real. It never was!"

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "No, it is. I love her and she loves me. If we didn't love each other, we wouldn't have this wedding in the first place!"

Before the two could say anything, a thought suddenly came to Marco. "Wait..." He narrowed his eyes at them, "Wait a minute... are you guys deliberately trying to stop me from marrying her?"

Both of them looked at Marco with wide eyes, caught off guard by the sudden accusation. "What? No!" Hekapoo exclaimed, "We wouldn't do that to you in a real wedding. This one isn't real though because you never agreed to have this wedding in the first place!"

Marco gasped, putting a hand to his chest. "Oh my gosh, you guys _are_ trying to stop the wedding, are you?"

"You. Are. Being. Hypnotized, Marco!" Alfonzo stated sternly, "None of this is the result of real love, dude! You are-"

Before he could finish, Marco quickly cut him off, anger flaring in his features. "No, you guys are clearly trying to stop me from marrying her! It's obvious! I can see it in your face that you love Elfina just as much as me, Alfonzo!"

"Whoa wait, what? Dude, I don't. I've never even seen her fa-"

"And you, Hekapoo," Marco pointed a finger at the demon, "I know for a fact that ever since the Love Worm incident, you've been liking me. I could see it in your eyes when we would eat breakfast, and during Late Night Conversation Thursdays!"

Though she didn't show it, the demon was a bit taken aback by his accusation, and even blushed a bit at the thought. If they were in any other situation, she would be stammering her mouth out right now. But Marco was in trouble, and she wasn't going to waste such precious time.

Mentally shaking those thoughts away, Hekapoo glared back at the boy, poking him on the chest. "Marco, you're being delusional right now! None of this real! That Elfina jerk doesn't love you! You were _hypnotized_ into loving her! None. Of. This. Is. Re-"

Before she could finish though, a sudden crash behind them cut her off.

"Huh?" The two snapped behind them to see what had caused the sound, but before they could find out, they were both hit on the head by wooden batons, immediately falling unconscious onto the floor.

Marco looked down in surprise at the two sleeping figures. When someone approached him, he raised his gaze up and was met with Velvet, who had her two green-haired partners and a group of armored guards behind her.

The red-haired elf bowed. "King Diaz, Your Highness. I am truly sorry for our sluggishness, for we had another intruder running around in the castle. Thankfully, we were able to catch him fairly easily." She then gestured to Hekapoo and Alfonzo, "Now, I take it you want these two gone?"

Marco glanced back down to the two unconscious bodies, a look of contemplation on his face. If he hadn't known they were knocked out by a pair of batons, he would think they were just sleeping on the floor; their calm breathing and features made it so convincing.

As his gaze lingered upon their figures, a look of sympathy flashed in his face for a moment. Unfortunately, it was only for a moment before the previous events returned to the forefront of his mind. His sympathetic look was swiftly replaced with an angry one, his eyes glaring at the two.

He nodded his head. "Yes please, take them to the dungeon."

Velvet gave a curt nod back. "Will do, Your Highness. Leaf, Emerald," She snapped her fingers and pointed at the two bodies.

The two green-haired elves behind her got to work and quickly dragged them away from Marco, bumping into a few guards on their way out of the room.

As the guards followed the pair of twins, Velvet couldn't help but shake her head. _'Morons...'_

She turned back to Marco. "Well, now that all of that has been taken care of, I'm going to go scout around for any more intruders. Can't have any interruptions at the wedding now, can we?" Velvet said as she walked up to the door, but before she made her exit, she glanced back at Marco and threw him a smile.

"Good luck at your wedding, Your Highness." She said, stepping out and catching up to the rest of the group down the hallway.

Marco was left alone on his own once again. His eyes lingered upon the hallway outside, watching the mass of armor slowly shrink into the distance. The events that had happened a while ago replayed in his mind. Every single word uttered from their mouths, every single action they did; he studied them all carefully in his mind.

Was it all true?

 _'No.'_ He thought, _'It's real. I am not hypnotized. I love her, and she loves me. I'm gonna have this wedding no matter what they were saying. I'm gonna marry her no matter what. I am not hypnotized. I am not... hypnotized...'_

* * *

Darkness was all Hekapoo could see. She couldn't feel anything; her arms, legs, they all felt like thin, uncontrollable air. Although time was indeterminate in her unconscious state, it felt like a dozen minutes before she could sense a bit of feeling come back in her limbs.

Although her sense of touch was still dull, she could feel her legs sliding across a smooth, cold surface. Her arms were strung above her airy head, and she could feel them being tugged and pulled by a pair of small hands that wrapped tightly around her wrists.

Even though her mind was still a bit fuzzy, Hekapoo could definitely tell she had been captured, and she was being taken to some sort of dungeon, possibly along with Alfonzo.

Enduring the mild headache she was now feeling, she opened her mucky eyes just a tiny bit to get a glimpse of her surroundings. Through blurry eyes, she could see she was in yet another marvelous white and gold hall, her feet being dragged along the cold marble floor. She glanced to her side, and saw the blurry figure of Alfonzo being dragged in the same way as her by a short girl in a green assassin-like outfit, who, if Hekapoo were to guess, was probably no older than the two of them.

If given a few minutes of recovery, Hekapoo would've definitely took their two captors on. Unfortunately, that had been ruled out as an option when she noticed an armored guard beside the young girl, armed with a long spear. There was also another one right beside her own captor, this one armed with an iron mace.

Seeing as how persistent the guards of the castle could be, she really didn't want to get chased by them anytime soon, Alfonzo probably even more so. Not to mention there could two or three more guards out of her view, which would only make escaping much harder for them.

She decided to wait until they arrived at the dungeon to see if they could find a way to escape from there. It didn't take long for their captors to stop, presumably at said dungeon. Alfonzo was already fully awake by the time they arrived, and had decided to keep quiet throughout the whole event, probably because Hekapoo was doing the same.

The jingling of keys could be heard from behind them, quickly followed by the familiar click and creak of an old wooden door. Their captors began dragging them again. As they passed through the door, the cold and smooth marble floor she had been accustomed to throughout was quickly replaced by a dark gray, damp, and even colder cobblestone floor; it was like time had suddenly shift from day to night.

The room itself was as dark and eerie, and quite small. Mold filled almost every nook and cranny there is, and she could even see several spiders crawling just about everywhere. If the door was closed, the only source of light they would get would be from the single barred window high up on the wall opposite of the door. Orange, dying sunlight was seeping in through it, landing softly upon the old wooden door and the small area surrounding it.

Her wandering mind snapped back to reality when she heard metallic chiming of chains behind her. Afterwards, she felt one of the small hands on her wrists remove itself and get replaced by an equally small hand. She heard faint counting and two simultaneous grunts before her body was hoisted up, and her wrists were quickly wrapped in cold, metallic cuffs.

Her head hung low, and her feet were about a meter off the ground. Quickly glancing up, she caught a glimpse of the two armored guards standing by on the other side of the small room.

With her head still hung low, she took another glance to her right. There, she saw the two young girls who had been dragging her and Alfonzo, both of whom seem to share the same fondness of green.

As they dragged Alfonzo over to a set of chains, her eyes were directed to a large figure chained to the wall like her to the right of where Alfonzo would be chained. They kept groaning and tossing, presumably awakening from unconsciousness, and upon closer inspection, she saw the figure to be Fergurson.

Hekapoo inwardly chuckled at the thought of Fergurson instantly getting caught the moment he turned that corner. However, her chuckles instantly stopped when a yelp and a grunt suddenly came from beside her.

Her head shot up to see Alfonzo had rammed into one of the green-colored twins in a stomach like a bull, knocking them down. It only took a split second for the two armored guards to run at him and punch him square in the face, causing him to stumble back and fall before subduing him.

Hekapoo bit her tongue, fighting the urge to call out to him. The guards quickly got to work and hoisted him up, clicking the cuffs into place around his wrists. As soon as they were done, the twin Alfonzo attacked had gotten up and shoved her way through the guards, anger absolutely flaring on her face. Afterwards, she immediately went and kicked him straight in his private parts, causing him to let out a loud, pained grunt and the guards to wince at the sight.

She brought her foot back for another kick, but was stopped by her twin. "No no no, Leaf, I think this guy had enough." She said.

All she got in response was a grumble and few incoherent curses from Leaf as she stomped her way out of the room like a small child. Her twin immediately followed after her, calling out her name as she ran out of the room. The guards stayed for a quick moment, glancing over the captives before finally heading out of the room, closing and locking the door with a loud click.

As the metallic footsteps outside slowly faded, Hekapoo snapped her angry gaze towards Alfonzo. "What the heck were you thinking?!" She chided.

Alfonzo didn't respond. He just kept groaning and fidgeting his legs, recovering from the attack on his man parts mere seconds ago.

Fergurson, meanwhile, jolted awake at the sound of Hekapoo's harsh tone. "W-what? What did I miss?" He asked in slurs.

"You missed Alfonzo here attacking one of the guards and getting kicked in the you-know-what for it." She said, glaring at the boy in question.

"Whoa really? Dude, that sounds awesome."

"No, it's not!" The demon exclaimed, "Seriously, things could've gotten a lot worse for you, Alfonzo. Don't do that again, for fricksakes."

Alfonzo sheepishly nodded, his face still contorted in pain.

Hekapoo sighed. "Well, we better get out of here fast, we only have a few minutes to stop the wedding." She snapped her fingers, summoning fire around both of her hands, and proceeded to blast fire onto her chains like thrusters.

Once the pain on his privates subsided, Alfonzo looked up to Hekapoo's fire hands. They seemed to not be doing a great job at melting the chains; they were either magic or made out of some fireproof metal. Either way, it was too darn slow.

"Mmph mmph mmph mmph." Alfonzo muffled out.

Hekapoo tore her attention away from her chains and shot him a raised eyebrow. "Uh... what?"

"Mmph mmph," Alfonzo opened his mouth widely and stuck his tongue out, which rolled around and held onto an old bronze key, "Blegh! I got a key here!"

"What the? How did you-" A look of thought waved over her face for a moment before realization hit her, "Oh... Ooooh!"

"Huh, looks like all those prison break movies we watched actually paid off." Fergurson said.

Alfonzo rolled his tongue back into his mouth and lifted his head up towards his hand. After a deep breath, he spit the key out, catching it flawlessly in his hand. He quickly inserted the key into the cuff's slot and unlocked it, doing the same for his other hand.

He landed on the ground with a thump, and swiftly freed his friends from their chains, with Hekapoo first and Fergurson last.

"Thanks, dude," Fergurson said, rubbing his reddened wrists, "Man, those cuffs were really tight, jeez..."

"Yeah, thanks Alfonzo. Now come on," With a face full of vengeance, Hekapoo turned to the locked door, cracking her knuckles, "Let's go crash ourselves a wedding."

* * *

The time had come for the wedding ceremony. If Marco only had one word to describe, it would be beautiful. Flowers of all kinds hung from the walls of the white and gold castle chapel, and a large bush arc stood tall at the altar. With the sunlight seeping into the room from a circular skylight and landing upon the altar, the chapel had a magical garden feel to it that Marco absolutely loved. Opposite of the altar were rows and rows of church benches occupied by friends and relatives of the queen, though there were some commoners and castle staff amongst the chattering royals he could see.

As Marco stood at the altar, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. He had been looking forward to this for a long time, looking forward to being with the queen he loved for the rest of his life. But he couldn't shake the feeling of paranoia off his mind. What if something bad happens during the ceremony? Or what if someone from the crowd of elves were to actually object and completely throw the wedding off?

And worse of all, what if Hekapoo and Alfonzo were saying the truth? Was he actually being hypnotized? Was this wedding all fake? Was Elfina not the sweet and kind elf he had known for all his life?

"No." He uttered to himself, "She wouldn't. She would never do that. She's too kind and sweet to ever do something like that."

Marco shook those thoughts off his mind and looked towards the door, where in any minute now, she would come through that door.

And as if on cue, the guards lined up by the doors began blowing on their trumpets, announcing the arrival of the bride. Everyone stood up and brought their gazes towards the doors. Marco's previous nervousness dissipated, quickly replaced by a new found excitement as the doors slowly opened.

Once the doors were out of the way, Marco couldn't help but gape in awe. Walking down the aisle behind a bunch flower girls was Elfina herself, dressed in one of the most elegant wedding dresses he had ever seen. Its glittery fabric flowed freely onto the floor, its ends held up by two elf children. Instead of her golden tiara, a crown of flowers sat atop of her blonde hair instead, mixing well with the decorations of the chapel. Her face was as serene as a mountain stream, and once she was nearing the altar, she looked up at Marco and gave him one of the sweetest smiles.

His heart fluttered like a butterfly, and he couldn't stop himself from smiling back.

* * *

"You sure those prisoners won't get out? I mean, it was left unguarded, and I'm pretty sure one of them can just knock the door down. That thing's old as my great grandmother." An armored guard asked as they walked down a hall.

The guard beside them confidently shrugged. "Sure they won't. We held more dangerous prisoners in there for _years._ A couple of weak humans and a demon is practically nothing."

The other guard rolled their eyes under their helmet. "Yeah, probably because they all die- AH!"

The guard suddenly flew forward and crashed to the floor, a huge smoking scorch mark on the back of his chest plate.

"What the?!" The other quickly turned around to face their threat, only to be hit in the face with a fireball, suffering the same fate as their partner.

Hekapoo, Fergurson, Alfonzo dashed right past the downed guards and rounded a corner. They were now making their way through the castle's hallways once again, this time towards the castle's chapel.

"Come on, through here!" Hekapoo beckoned the other two as she ran towards another turn.

"Oh gosh... all this running... is killing me... jeez!" Fergurson said, lagging right behind the other two.

The trio whizzed their way through the empty hall, running towards another one to the side. They quickly slid around the corner, but stopped when two guards at the end caught them.

"Hey you!" One of them yelled.

Hekapoo cursed inwardly as the two guards began chasing after them. The demon turned on her heel and grabbed the other two, leading them back to where they come from.

Hopefully their detour won't be swarming with guards.

* * *

"Friends, families, elves of all kinds, we are all gathered here today to celebrate the momentous and memorable joining of these two young lovers, Queen Elfina of Lyruu and Marco Diaz of Earth, in the bonds of matrimony..." An old bearded elf priest recited.

Marco and Elfina both stood at the altar. Their smiles were unwavering, and they couldn't help but occasionally steal a few glances from each other.

"You know, you look beautiful today." The boy whispered to her.

Elfina giggled, lightly slapping him on the arm. "Oh you."

* * *

Their detour was absolutely swarming with guards.

It looked like the security had tightened while they were out as wherever they are, there would always a guard or two just down a hall.

"Run, run, run!" Hekapoo yelled, sidestepping a guard that had popped in front of them.

Alfonzo and Fergurson tried the best they could to outrun the mass of armored guards behind them. They all had weapons of sort, ranging from a long sword to an iron mace. Their yells and clanking footsteps were so loud, it could drown out an entire construction site.

As the trio rounded another corner, another guard popped into the hall from a room, the hammer in his hand ready to smash them flat. Hekapoo quickly summoned a fireball in her hands and threw it at him. His eyes widened under his mask at the incoming ball of fire. He tried to dodge it, but the heavy hammer he was carrying slowed him down a lot, and he was promptly fireballed in the chest, flying backwards and crashing to the floor.

"Come on, let's go!" The demon shouted as the trio continued down the hall, the mass of persistent armor still behind them.

* * *

"Do you, Queen Elfina, take Marco Diaz as your lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death do part?"

Her eyes stared gladly into his. "I do..."

"And do you, Marco Diaz, take Queen Elfina as your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do part?"

His hands tightened around hers as he smiled. "I do..."

* * *

When a line of guards blocked the way, the trio slid to a stop and turned around, stepping into a different hallway. They were getting close to the chapel, and Hekapoo hoped to everything magical nothing bad had happened to Marco.

The shouts of the mob behind them continued to echo through the marble halls. They passed by a row of wooden doors, all of them locked. All except the last one. When they ran right by the open door by the end of the hall, the door burst open to a guard, who managed to charge into Alfonzo and pin him to the wall.

"Ha! Gotcha now!" He exclaimed.

Hekapoo and Fergurson turned around and gasped as Alfonzo began struggling under the guard's grip. The demon quickly conjured another fireball, but apparently she was too slow as Fergurson had already charged at the guard, letting out a roar.

Hearing Fergurson coming, the guard turned to confront him, only to quickly be met by a fist to his chest, sending him stumbling away from the incapacitated boy.

Alfonzo dropped to the floor, panting as he clutched on his chest. He patted his friend on the shoulder. "Th-thanks Fergurson."

He didn't respond, but instead winced in pain and clutched on his reddening fist. "Ow..."

The demon shook her head. "Alright, come on you two. We're getting closer to the chapel."

* * *

Marco and Elfina stared at each other with proud yet bashful eyes. One of the boy's hand held hers delicately, and his other slowly slid the ring down her finger.

Once it was in, the queen took his hand, wrapping hers around his delicately like a soft blanket. She grabbed the ring from the pillow beside her and did the same, slowly sliding the ring down his finger.

Afterwards, they looked up and stared into each others eyes. Elfina's were absolutely sparkling with joy and delight, like a beautiful topaz in a bath of sunlight. Marco's were soft and sweet like chocolate, and the queen could feel herself getting lost under his gaze in a good way.

"Now," The priest cleared his throat, "If there is anyone who thinks these two are not to be wedded, speak now or forever hold your peace."

The couple waited for anyone to stand up and object. Marco watched the seated royals and commoners with a nervous and frightful gaze. On the other hand, Elfina's eyes were slit, practically glaring at everyone. It was like she was wordlessly telling them, "Stand up and you're dead."

Seconds passed, and when no one spoke up, Elfina smirked. The priest nodded, "As no one is willing to object, I now have the authority to pronounce these two husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride!"

At those words, a big, goofy smile instantly appeared on Marco's face. He turned towards the queen, who looked just as eager and excited as him, and held her close. His face inched closer to hers, and his eyes began lidding. He wanted savor this moment, he wanted to make this the most memorable kiss of his entire life.

Their lips got closer... and closer... and closer... and-

Suddenly, the two guards by the door got squashed when the doors burst open, a loud boom echoing throughout the chapel. Everyone, including the couple, brought their eyes towards the doors, all confused and surprised.

Standing with her arms spread out was none other than Hekapoo, with Alfonzo and Fergurson right behind her. She was panting hard, and her glare was set dead straight at the queen.

"I OBJECT!"

Elfina, absolutely bewildered by her appearance, yawped at her. "Hekapoo?! How the heck did you escape my totally inescapable dungeon?!"

Marco was in the same state of confusion as the elf crowd as he looked between the two glaring ladies. "Uh, what's going on n-"

"Can it, Marco!" The demon yelled, pointing her finger at him, "I still haven't forgiven you for letting them throw us in the dungeon!"

The queen pulled on her hair and gritted her teeth. "Rah! Why can't you MHC losers let me marry a hot guy for on-" Before she could finish her complaint, Hekapoo quickly conjured a fireball and threw it over at her, hitting her dead center in her face.

Everyone gasped in shock as the queen fell to the floor, her smoking face black from soot. Marco's jaw practically dropped through the floor as he stared at his wide. He snapped his head back at Hekapoo, a look of anger upon his fave. "Hekapoo! What the heck?! You can't just fireball pe-" Just like his partner, the demon chucked a fireball at his face as well, effectively shutting him up and sending him to the floor.

Alfonzo raised an eyebrow at her. "Did you really have to do that?"

"Yes..."

The elven crowd stared and gaped in shock and surprise at the two downed newlyweds by the altar. After seconds of silence, a small elder from the mass stood up and shot a finger towards the trio. "They just fireballed our king and queen! Get them!"

The entire crowd roared and brought out a variety of weapons from seemingly out of nowhere - pitchforks, knives, and even heavy flails - and began charging at the trio like a herd of stampeding warnicorns.

The priest's eyes widened. "Oh no, violence, my greatest fear! Aaaah!" He screamed, running away towards a door behind the altar.

Hekapoo clenched her fist and glared at the incoming mass of elves, while the other two behind her gulped in fear. As the distance between all of them closed, she let out a battle cry and began charging head on into the crowd, Alfonzo and Fergurson hesitantly following her so.

One elf running right at her raised his sword up above his head and brought it down on the demon, but she quickly stepped out of the way, causing the blade to clink on the floor lamely. The demon quickly summoned flame hands and punched the elf in the stomach, sending him flying away to the back of the mass.

She glanced to the side, and saw another one coming at her with a mace. The elf brought his mace behind him and swung up at her face, but the demon quickly blocked its path with her arm. His eyes widened, and he tried to get away, but she quickly elbowed him in the throat, sending coughing and hacking on his way down.

As she dropped the mace to the floor, there was a yell behind her. She turned on her heel, and caught a glimpse of a small elf pouncing at her with two knives. Her reflexes kicked in, and she quickly summoned a fireball, throwing it at the falling elf in just a split second. The elf's eyes widened in a flash before the fireball hit him dead in the face, tossing him backwards through the air and down to the ground, his knives dropping right beside his knocked out body.

Meanwhile, Alfonzo was nearby, confronting hammer-wielding elf. They had a stand-off for a second before the elf let out a battle cry and dashed towards him. He brought his hammer above his head and swung it down at him, but Alfonzo quickly stepped back and dodged it, a loud clang booming through the room when the hammer hit the ground. Taking the opportunity, Alfonzo stepped forward and punched the elf in the face, surprisingly sending him stumbling back and drop to the floor.

A cry emanated from behind him, and he instinctively went for the hammer in front of him. Mustering all the strength he could, he picked the hammer up, and although it was quite heavy, he was strong enough to swing it under him and hit the charging elf in the stomach. The elf grunted from the impact and flew way up from the massive force, crashing through the ceiling.

Alfonzo stared at the ceiling hole in bewilderment, surprised how powerful that hit was. But it wasn't for long as another elf behind him swung a baton at his leg, making him stumble to the ground. With the boy on his knee, the elf grinned deviously and brought his button up to knock him out. Alfonzo saw this and tightened his grip on the hammer, then swung it towards the elf with all the strength he could. The baton nearly made contact with his head, but the hammer was practically blurring through the air at that point, and was first to hit the elf hard in the chest, sending him soaring through the air like the others.

Alfonzo got up from his knee and turned to the mass of fighting elves behind him. He gripped his hammer tight, and with roaring battle cry, he charged right in.

Standing by the open doors, Fergurson was busy choking and punching an elf into submission. However, loud clanking footsteps started echoing down from the hall outside, bringing Fergurson's eyes to the doors. A mass of armored guards were making their way towards the chapel, every single one of them armed with weapons. Leading the charging mob of iron was Velvet, gripping on a sword, and right behind her were Leaf and Emerald who were both armed with dual daggers.

Fergurson's eyes widened. "Uh, guys..." He turned to the others, "There's a bunch of guards coming!"

Hekapoo, who was punching one of the last elves standing in the face, turned her gaze towards the door. Seeing the stampede of armor, she cursed inwardly. "You two, get behind me!" She commanded the other two.

They complied and quickly ran over behind her. As the guards began closing in on the chapel, Alfonzo stared in utter fear, "Holy jeez, that's a lot of guards."

The demon threw her thumb towards the altar. "You two hide behind that altar, I'll handle this." She said.

Without a second of thought, the two boys did as she said. They peeked over the altar and watched as the guards entered the chapel, stopping by the doors. Hekapoo stood her ground, fists clenched and fiery eyes glancing over at everyone in front of her, but the two could tell her glare was set dead straight at the red-colored elf.

Seeing the angry demon, Velvet snickered. "Well well well, if it isn't Miss Drunk of the Year," She scoffed, "I heard you got suspended from the MHC, seems like that drinking problem of yours has been nice to you."

"You better shut that mouth, Velvet. Or do you want me to do it for you like last time?" The demon seethed.

"Whoa there, you better watch your temper," The red-colored elf said, "I heard anger can throw you off your game when you're fighting some-"

Before she could finish, Hekapoo threw a fireball at her. Velvet managed to duck under it just in time, causing to hit a guards right behind her instead. She stood up, and after glancing back at the injured guard, turned back to the demon, her scoffing face now replaced by anger.

"Alright, enough playing games," She snapped both of her fingers, "Leaf, Emerald, cut her up!"

The two twins both let out furious yells and began charging at Hekapoo, their knives ready to slice and dice her to pieces. The demon narrowed her eyes at the quickly closing elves, and conjured flames around her hands.

Once the twins were close enough, Hekapoo promptly brought both of her fists behind her and punched them hard in their faces. Her hits managed to send them both flying back to the crowd of guards, where they thudded to the floor and slid to a stop at Velvet's sides, huge scorch marks on their faces.

Looking down at the unconscious elves, the red-colored elf groaned disappointedly.  
"Useless idiots..." She looked back to the demon, and snapped her fingers again, "Everyone, go get her!"

The guards behind her let out roars of battle and began stampeding towards the demon. She let out a cry of her own and ran at the mob of armor, fiery fists ready for battle. As she charged, a guard came up to her and brought his sword up, then began swinging it down on her. But Hekapoo was too quick for him. She reflexively ducked down and punched him straight in the stomach, sending him crashing into a few guards.

Another one with a sword charged right at her. This one wasn't able to get ready for an attack though, as Hekapoo sent a powerful jab to his face, taking him out of commission. Two more guards came at her, both swinging flails above their heads. One was able to send his down to strike the demon, but Hekapoo stepped out of the way and promptly sent him stumbling back and into unconsciousness with a punch to the face. The other one wasn't so lucky as his partner, as he hadn't got a chance to send his flail down at her before Hekapoo punched him hard in the chest, then sent a knockout punch to the face when he didn't go down.

A large wave of guards were charging at her now, too large for her taste. With a low growl, she quickly cracked her knuckles and charged as well. A guard at the front was first to confront her. Getting close, he raised his iron mace up and struck it down at her, but she managed dodged to the side and avoid it. Before Hekapoo could counter, the guard quickly brought his mace off the ground and swung it at her head. Fortunately for the demon, her reflexes kicked in, and she was able to duck under it in time. Seeing an opening, she brought her fist back and sent a fiery blow to the guards stomach, making him drop the mace and fly back away from the fight.

Hekapoo quickly caught the mace from the air and faced the wave of incoming guards. She ran at them, and began mowing down every guard that managed to get two meters close to her. Legs were snapped in half, heads were hit with the force of a cannonball, and guards tore through the air like arrows. Her moves were smooth and fluid, and she even began spinning around and twirling her mace, hitting every single swing like an ice skater on a sugar high.

Once her devastating weapon knocked the final guard out, sending him flying through the chapel doors, Hekapoo stopped her show of spectacularity and stood panting in front of Velvet, her grip still tight on her mace. The red-colored elf was amazed and admittedly, a little terrified at the show she had just witnessed.

"Hm, not bad." She commented, her calm expression betraying her previous fear, "But let's see if you got what it takes against me!"

The red-colored elf quickly pulled out her sword from her sheath and dashed towards Hekapoo, letting out a battle cry as she did so. The elf takes a swing at the demon's hip, but Hekapoo was able to bring her mace down at her side and block the sword's path. Velvet brought her sword back and raised it above her head, then swung down at Hekapoo. The demon however was quick enough bring her mace above her head, again blocking the elf's sword.

Velvet stepped back a bit then thrusted her sword forward, intending to stab her foe in the stomach, but Hekapoo managed to step out of the way just in time. The demon stepped forward and sent a flaming punch to her foe's face, making Velvet stumble back with a grunt.

Seeing the chance, Hekapoo dashed towards her and swung her mace down at her head, but the elf managed to recover just in time and, catching a glimpse of the demon's mace, block it with her sword. The demon brought it back and made to swing at her legs, hoping she could break it and make her stumble, but that was quickly blocked again by her sword. She then sent a swing to her stomach, to which Velvet easily stepped back away from it and jump up onto a church bench.

As she pushed her along the bench, Hekapoo continued to send bone-breaking strikes at the elf, all of which were unfortunately parried by Velvet's quick sword. Reaching the end of the bench, the elf jumped off of it and continued her streak of defense. After another one of her swing were blocked, Hekapoo brought her mace up, hoping it would actually hit her this time.

However, due to all the misses and parries, the demon's movements were a bit slow and sluggish from her slowly growing fatigue. Velvet saw this as a chance to get the upper hand and quickly did a backflip, successfully kicking the mace from the demon's grip and sending it flying across the room. Her mind as sluggish as her, Hekapoo was caught off guard for a moment, and before she could even realize what happened, Velvet sent a forceful kick to her stomach, launching her to the other side of the chapel.

The two boys peeking from behind the altar gasped. "Hekapoo!" They called out, worry and fear running through their veins.

Hekapoo soared through the air like flung sack of potatoes and thudded to the floor. Her ragdolled body slid across the marble with a squeak, and after a few seconds, finally slowed to a stop by a wall. The demon moaned in pain, still feeling the force from the elf's kick lingering in her stomach.

As she tried to prop herself up against the wall, Velvet slowly approached the downed demon, her grip on her sword tight and her eyes shining with murder. She stopped and stood by her feet, and grinned evilly as she watched the demon pant and groan from the pain.

The elf scoffed. "You may have beaten me once," She raised her sword up and pointed the blade at her shoulder, "But you're not gonna live to tell the tale this time."

Velvet brought her sword back and forcefully stabbed the demon deep into her shoulder. Hekapoo let out blood-curdling scream from the massive amounts of pain coursing through her body; she could already feel her warm blood flowing down her arm. The red-colored elf had the grin of a psychopath. She was absolutely enjoying this. Her screams - those spine-chilling screams - it was like music to her ears.

In a desperate attempt to save herself, she gripped onto the blade with both hands. The elf saw this and promptly twisted her sword, causing Hekapoo to scream and her grip to falter. But the demon managed to endure the unbearing pain as she tightened her hands around the blade. Velvet tried to twist her sword again, but found some resistance when she did. Slowly, Hekapoo began pulling it out of her shoulder, screaming her vocal cords out as the pain coursed through her everything.

The elf's eyes widened in shock. She tried to push the sword back in, but found even more resistance than before. Hekapoo could feel only inch of the blade was left in her shoulder. With one final rage-fueled scream, she yanked the sword out of her, causing more blood to flow out, and kicked the elf away from her.

Velvet stumbled back from the demon's kick, dropping her sword in the process. Hekapoo saw the chance and quickly pushed herself off the ground with her good arm, wobbling a bit when she stood up. Mustering the last bits of strength she had, she charged at her and punched the elf hard in the face. She wasn't giving her any chance this time as she began uppercutting her stomach over and over and over again, causing a pained grunt from her with each hit. Then, with one final battle cry, the demon sent a powerful kick to her chest, which sent her flying across the chapel like Hekapoo.

And just like her, Velvet tore through the air like a dart then crash landed onto the floor, sliding along the marble and finally slowing to a halt by a wall. The elf moaned in pain and clutched on her aching chest, absolutely bruised and battered. As she weakly propped herself up on the wall, Hekapoo stomped her way over to her, her fiery eyes showing her intent to finish it once and for all. Once she was beside the elf, the demon promptly grabbed her by the collar and raised her up in the air like she was nothing.

"Wanna know a fact?" Her eyes narrowed at her, "You're dead wrong."

With her finals words said to her, Hekapoo summoned fire around her fist and sent a jaw-breaking uppercut, sending her flying up and crashing through the ceiling, finally putting an end to a long and painful battle.

She stared at the hole in the ceiling for a moment, seemingly watching it in case something comes back. When a minute passed by and nothing has appeared, she closed her eyes and let out a tired yet content sigh.

Looking over to the altar, Marco and Elfina were still there as she left them, as well as Fergurson and Alfonzo behind the altar itself. "You two can come out now." She called out as she made her way over.

The two boys cautiously emerged from the altar, glancing in awe at the utter destruction the demon had caused. "Whoa," Alfonzo said, "This is just... I have no words."

"Yeah," Fergurson added, "Now I can't tell whether you're more dangerous sober or drunk."

The demon chuckled a bit at his joke, "Thanks guys. And trust me, I'm much more dangerous drunk off my butt."

"So..." Alfonzo looked down at the unconscious would-be couple, "What's gonna happen to them?"

Hekapoo got her knee beside Marco and proceeded to dust the soot on his face away. "Well, for Marco, I think I know someone who can get that hypno fluid out of him." She glanced over to Elfina, a small hint of disgust forming in her face as she did so, "As for her, I'll just call Glossaryck and tell him an anonymous bounty hunter managed to track her down and beat her up."

"So, that's it then?" Fergurson asked.

"Yup, pretty much." Hekapoo said as she picked Marco up and threw him onto her shoulder, then pulled out her dimensional scissors from her pocket, "Now come on, let's get out of here. This place stinks of elf sweat."

* * *

This was the third time Marco was put into the world of the unconscious, the third time he had been met with nothing but pitch black darkness.

But just like the first time it happened, his senses slowly came back to him after what felt like hours. He could start to feel all the softness surrounding him, like he was being hugged by a giant pillow. He could smell the sweet, delicious aroma dancing around in the air that made his mouth water. And if he listened close enough, he could hear a happy sounding song playing nearby, a song that seemed familiar to him like he had heard a hundred times before.

With all these in mind, he guessed (and hoped) that wherever he was, it definitely wasn't some sort of evil lair or dark building where he could spend his last hours in. Catiously, he fluttered his eyes open. His vision was blurry for a second, but after a few more blinks, the blurs and blobs everywhere slowly formed into the image of a ceiling.

His living room ceiling.

"Ugh..." He groaned out, putting a hand on his forehead, "Wha... What happened...?"

"Oh hey, you're awake." A familiar voice said nearby, which, after hearing her voice so many times, unmistakably belonged to Hekapoo.

Marco, who just noticed he was strangely clad in a fancy white suit, groggily slid his elbows under him and pushed his body off the couch, letting it rest against the arm rest behind him. Looking around, he confirmed he was indeed in the living room, seeing the familiar coffee table beside him and the TV nearby, which was playing one of his favorite cartoons. He pulled his attention away from the room and brought his gaze over to the other end of the couch where Hekapoo was sitting, munching on a cookie as she continued to scratch on a bloody bandage on her shoulder.

"So... what happened?" He repeated, "And is that a... sword wound on your shoulder?"

"Well, to put it simply," She started, popping the last piece of the cookie into her mouth, "You got kidnapped by elves, was injected with hypno fluid and hypnotized into marrying their queen, and got saved by me, Alfonzo, and Fergurson. And don't worry, I got Dr. McBrassKnuckles to get rid of the fluid with a clean needle this time, and he even gave me a some free bandages for my shoulder wound."

"Hypnotized? Oh gosh..." Marco buried his face in his hands, "Did I do anything stupid?"

"Stupid? Um..." Hekapoo paused and looked to the side, seemingly in thought from what he could see, which only made him even more worried. He was about to groan in embarrassment when she quickly stopped him, "No, no you didn't."

"You sure?" He asked, skeptical.

"Yup, 100% sure."

Marco sighed in relief. "Oh thank gosh. For a second there, I thought I did something so stupid like accusing you of being in love with me."

Hearing the statement, the demon coughed into her fist and looked away from the boy, a very small hint of crimson on her cheeks. Marco looked up at her and raised an eyebrow at her sudden bashfulness. He intended to question her about, but he decided to just let it go; she probably didn't want to talk about it anyway.

"Well, thanks for saving me though." He said, "I don't know what I would have done if you guys haven't."

Her bashfulness disappeared in an instant at his words. She turned back to Marco and gave him a warm smile. "Hey, no problem," She playfully punched him on the leg, "What are best friends for?"

Marco returned her warm gesture with a smile of his own, which seemed to have widened hers a bit. As they simply sat there staring at each other, the boy's eyes glanced down for a split second, and he managed to get a glimpse of a small piece of paper sticking out of his pocket.

"Huh?" He yanked it out and brought it up to his face, inspecting it closely. Reading the contents of the paper once, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. But after going over it once again, his eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened.

Hekapoo raised an eyebrow. "What? What is it?"

"Uh, Hekapoo... I think this is the queen's number."

" _What?!_ " The demon quickly snatched the paper from his hands, making him jolt in surprise. Indeed, it did contain her number, surrounded by multiple heart doodles and written in that prissy and recognizable handwriting of hers.

The demon let out an angry growl at the paper in her hands, then began ripping it into shreds. Marco watched in utter confusion as she placed what's left of the paper in her hand, to which she quickly burned them all into a pile of worthless ashes.

"Uh... w-wha-"

"Burn that suit." Hekapoo said as she got off from the couch and stomped towards the stairs.

Marco furrowed his eyebrows. "What? Wh-"

"Just burn that suit! I don't wanna see it in this house!"

The sound of a slammed door boomed throughout the house afterwards. Marco stared at the stairs the demon had climbed up, trying and ultimately failing to make sense of what just happened.

"O-okay..."


	10. The Black Rose Masquerade

A/N: Okay, so... where the heck have I been?

Welp, first off: school, of course. Then there was that haitus I took, which, of course, involved school.

And... I may or may not have procrastinated a bit...

Okay, maybe a lot.

Damn, is Oblivion addictive, more so with a crap ton of mods.

Anyway, here it is: The Black Rose Masquerade! 23k words! Again, review review review! Give me advice, criticism, anything that would help me improve! And thank you for the reviews you guys left last chapter!

As for me, I'll be seeing you in Chapter 11.

Hopefully.

6194036

* * *

 _"Sometimes, the love of your life could be sitting right next to you every day at lunch, chatting and laughing with you at every chance they get, and generally just being there for you no matter what the circumstances. And sometimes, you could be so blinded by another to even notice it."_

 _-_ A friend

* * *

Hekapoo Vs The Forces of Her Ex-Husbands

Chapter 10: The Black Rose Masquerade

* * *

The hellish bedroom was quite spacious and dimly. Its walls and furniture were made of dark obsidian, the walls more so. There was a massive four-poster bed at center by the far wall in between two curtained windows. Along with that were numerous other necessities dotted about—drawers, wardrobes, tables and chairs, and more among many others.

The walls themselves, although made of obsidian, were tinted with blood red coming from the flickering red flames of the metallic chandelier hanging above the whole room. There was also a bit of orange mixed in as well, which came from the light of the fires outside seeping in through the curtains. Everything smelled like smoke and fire, and the air was thick with ash. It would be a wonder if a normal person could stay in there for more than a minute without choking to death.

Standing by a body mirror and a table with a red mask on it was the three-eyed, ever persistent demon King Lucitor. As opposed to his usual gray business suit, he was clad in a more formal and more red two-piece. His light red coat was unbuttoned at least four buttons down his collar, exposing a lot of his darker undershirt. That, along with his pants and shoes, were absolutely spotless, no stray lint in sight. Whoever was in charge of keeping the suit clean should be given a medal.

Now, as with any formal suit, one would need a tie to complete the set. Lucitor had one, of course; the only problem he had was actually putting it on.

"Ugh, come on! Stupid fricking tie..." He muttered as he struggled with the accessory on his neck. It had been nearly half an hour since he started suffering from the dreaded piece of clothing, and he was getting a bit irritated.

 _'I swear, any more of this and I might-'_

Before he could complete his thought, a knock from the door brought him out of his frustration. "Come in!" He called out to the knocker. He heard the creak of his door opening, and the click of it closing. The sound of clacking shoes came towards him, and once it stopped, he brought his eyes away from his tie and up at the mirror to see who it was.

Upon seeing the person behind him, almost all traces of his irritation faded in an instant, and was replaced with excitement. "Ah, Thomas!" He exclaimed with a smile, "I was wondering when you'd be back. Did you send that invitation for Hekapoo to your girlfriend?"

Tom Lucitor, the demon king's only son, had many similar features like his father, the most prominent ones being the third eye on his forehead, and the similarly colored horns upon his head. The only big difference between the two was that Tom's skin had a white tint mixed with a bit of red, giving it an almost pinkish color. His tall form—at least for a demon his age—was dressed in a two-piece suit similar to his father, only his was all black with a white undershirt, there was a rose pinned to his chest, and he managed to actually tie his tie, unlike the demon king.

As his father continued to glare at his own tie in the mirror, Tom took a deep breath, and spoke up, "Dad, we need to talk."

Dave once again diverted his attention away from his tie and looked at his son through the mirror. "Talk? Well, yes, sure! Just... not right now. I'm kind of busy as you can see," He gestured to his collar, "Perhaps later at the party?"

The younger demon shook his head. "No dad, we need to talk." He spoke again in a more serious tone, "Now."

Hearing the sternness in his voice, the demon king raised an eyebrow. He watched as his son reached into his coat, rummaged inside it for a moment, and pulled out a shiny, golden envelope—the same one he had given to him a while ago. The young demon tossed it carelessly onto a table beside him, and looked back up at his father with a grimace.

"I'm not sending that invitation."

Hearing his steely words, Dave furrowed his eyebrows. His attention was now well away from his pesky tie, and his ears were _very_ intent on hearing what his own son had to say.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"I said I'm not sending that invitation, dad." Tom repeated. His tone was hard and sure, and his eyes were practically glaring at the demon king now. Tom's entire demeanor was just shouting rebellion, and Dave could tell he was going to be sticking to it like tongue on ice.

"...You're kidding, right?" He said with an incredulous look.

"No, I'm not." He paused to take a couple of deep breaths, and continued, "Dad, I came here to tell you need to stop this... this... _thing_ with Hekapoo, seriously."

"Stop?" The demon let out light chuckle, finding a small hint of amusement in a rather ridiculous demand. He let out an amused sigh, and asked, "Now why would I want to do that?"

"Because Hekapoo doesn't love you, dad! It's pretty obvious she never did, and she never will! You practically threatened her to marry you!" He exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air, "Not only that, you and your... _men_ get beat up almost every day by her! Can't you see she just wants to be left alone?"

Dave chuckled once again. "Tom, have you been near my whiskey cabinet again by any chance? You're acting a bit delusional right now."

"Delusional? Dad, I'm not being delusional!" Tom said with an insulted scowl, "It's incredibly clear she doesn't want to marry you! She never will! So could you just... stop all this? Please?"

"You know, I think we've had enough chit chat for today." The demon king said as he went back to his tie, his previous amusement faded from his voice, "Why don't you go and send that invitation like I told you, hm?"

Tom let out annoyed groan, and began rubbing his temples. "Dad, please just listen to me for once! I want you to stop this... _obsession_ because you barely have time for your own son anymore! You rarely hang out with me, you shut me out every time I try to talk to you, and every time I even get the chance to see you, you're always busy on your next plan to get Hekapoo back!"

Dave simply stood there motionless, looking at his son's reflection with the most unamused look he had. The young demon continued nonetheless, "Seriously, I don't even know why you're so obsessed over her so much. Is it because you want me to have a mom? Well, good news, I don't need one! I'm completely capable of being motherless! I don't need... H-Hekapoo to make me blueberry pancakes for breakfast or... or... tell me stories when I have nightmares, alright? I don't... I don't need any of that!"

Before Tom could continue, the demon king narrowed his eyes at him through the mirror. His grip on his tie tightened, crumpling and wrinkling it like a piece of paper as his throat rumbled with a low growl.

"Thomas..." He said, his voice dripping with warning. He knew where he was taking this, he could just tell. If he dared to even utter a single letter about it, he would—

"...Or is it because she's like my real mom? If it is, then you need to—"

Like a strike of lightning, the demon king's fist tore through the air, and with a loud crack that echoed through the room, struck the mirror so hard his fist managed to tear through it and out the other side. The younger demon jumped at his sudden outrage, taking a defensive step away from his father.

He watched in fear as his father angrily panted, trying to calm himself down. "One, two, three, four..." He counted up in a haste manner, reaching up to at least forty before he started to slow down. When he stopped at eighty-two, he sighed and yanked his fist out of the hole. He then looked back up at the now cracked mirror, the same unamused look from before now on his face.

"Thomas, my patience is running very thin. Very, _very_ thin." He glared at his son's distorted figure, "If I were you right now, I would pick up that invitation and do as I was told."

An intense silence hung over them for a minute or so. Tom continued to watch his father, his shaky eyes quickly replaced with a glare at his father's threatening advice. When he said he wasn't going to send that invitation, he meant it. Just because his furious demon of a father was practically glaring swords at him doesn't mean he was going to comply.

But upon seeing his father tighten his fists up again, his teeth grinding faster with every second of silence, Tom's rebellious nature quickly dissipated, replaced by one of anger. With a mad huff, he swiped the golden envelope off the table, his glare intensifying the more he held onto the dreaded invitation.

"Fine. I'll send your invitation." He hissed through his teeth as he turned around, stomping his way out of the room. Once he was out, he slammed the doors closed, so hard that it caused a few objects in the room to rattle and fall.

Upon hearing his harsh leave, Dave loosened up and let out a tired sigh. He stood in silence for a moment, eyes closed and head hung low, seemingly in deep thought. When a minute had passed, he dug his hand into his undershirt and rummaged around for a bit, then pulled out a golden, heart-shaped locket.

He popped it open, revealing a single picture inside, looking no better for wear. It was of a woman—a demon woman to be exact. Her long, fiery red hair flowed down her shoulders like a bloodfall, serene and beautiful. On top of her head were a pair of long horns, colored in a darker shade of red than her hair. She had what most would call pale skin, but upon a closer look, one could see a bit of a red tinge to it, making her skin a faint pink that could only be seen in close contact. As opposed to the serenity of her hair, her toothy smile and glimmering crimson eyes were as cheery as a young demon in a candy store, and her pudgy face just made her look even cuter than she already was.

As Dave caressed the picture with his thumb, he couldn't help but let a smile creep up his face. She never failed to do that to him. It didn't last for long however, as his smile fell as quickly as it appeared, and was replaced by a more somber look—a complete contrast to the picture he held.

He sighed. "If only you were here, Mei..."

After a sorrowful shake of his head, he kissed the picture and snapped the locket shut, putting it back into his undershirt. Afterwards, he huffed a breath and straightened himself up, a look of determination upon his face.

"Alright, come on, Lucitor! You have a masquerade to get to and a Hekapoo to get married to! Focus! Focusfocusfocusfocusfocusfocus...!"

* * *

It was another sunny weekend noon in Echo Creek, and Hekapoo and Marco were eating lunch at the dinner table, the plates of steaks and mashed potatoes in front of them prepared by the ever so lovingly Mrs. Diaz. Who, along with her husband, had gone out and left for work reasons, and probably wouldn't back until late at night. Rafael was supposedly at a gallery showcasing his new art, while Angie's workplace had their employees come in for the weekend to help clean up the mess made by "a Latino kid, a fire demon lady, and a bunch of really angry and gross men".

As the two ate their food, Marco was scrolling on through his phone, occasionally laughing at something and stuffing his mouth afterwards.

"O-oh man," Marco chuckled, his voice muffled by the mashed potatoes in his mouth, "Dude, Jackie posts like, the funniest pictures on the entire planet! Oh, look at this one!"

He swallowed his food, then thrust his phone towards Hekapoo on the other side of the table, leaning over his plate. "It's a goofy looking dinosaur with a top hat and sunglasses! Hilarious! Hahaha!"

Unlike her really humored best friend, the demon wasn't amused whatsoever, her face carrying the same bored look. He had been going through Jackie's Delayagram page for the past half hour, occasionally showing her a picture he deemed "hilarious".

Of course, they weren't funny nor interesting to her in any way. She didn't even bother looking at the one he was showing now, she was too busy thinking over whether it was Marco or Jackie who had a bad sense of humor.

As the demon played with her mashed potatoes, her head propped up on her arm, she said back in a bored tone, "Uh huh, sure. Comedy gold, Marco."

And just like all the others times he had shoved his face up to her face, the boy was completely oblivious to his best friend's disinterest. Chuckling, he sat back down on his chair and continued on scrolling through the page, occasionally stuffing his face with food and laughing at a picture.

Their lunch went on like that for a while; Hekapoo chewed and ignored her best friend, bored as heck, while pieces of steak and potato flew and made a mess on the table from Marco's merriments.

Then suddenly, the doorbell rang. _Ding dong!_

The familiar ring echoed throughout the house, tearing the duo away from their lunch. They turned their eyes towards the entrance to the living room, raising their eyebrows.

"Are you expecting anybody?" Hekapoo asked, her grip on her knife tightening instinctively in case of any danger.

Swallowing his food, Marco shook his head. "No... I don't think so..." He said as he narrowed his eyes, "I don't... think we even have a doorbell."

The duo glanced at each other, and after a moment, telepathically agreed that whoever was outside was definitely one of the demon's ex-husbands (or at least not the mailman). After an affirmative nod from both, Marco grabbed his knife and hopped off his seat, following a fireball-ready Hekapoo into the living room. They sneaked their way through the room towards the front door, wary not to make any loud noises lest they announce their presence to whoever was outside.

Once they were there, they each took a place by the side of the door. With one hand holding her knife, Hekapoo gripped on the doorknob, and held up three fingers at Marco, signaling for a countdown. The boy nodded, and with a face fit for a fight, raised his knife up a bit, ready to strike down on the first sign of danger.

"Three... two... _one!_ " The demon swiftly swung the door open, and with Marco beside her, let out a battle cry and charged forward, their knives ready for a skirmish.

Which ultimately turned out to be nothing, as once they found out who was outside, they stopped and froze, their cries quickly fading away at the sight of—

"Star?" They both said, their eyebrows raised at her.

The blonde princess, dressed in a sea green dress with magenta boots, accompanied by purple and orange leggings, stood frozen and stared at the two with pursed lips. One of her hands held a tiny brass bell, while the other held an equally brass rod.

"Uh... hey guys!" She greeted with a smile, though her voice clearly dripped with nervousness from the knives being brandished at her.

At the sound of her usual cheery voice, the two sighed in relief and dropped their arms. Star sighed in relief as well, thankful she didn't get stabbed by her former future mother-in-law and her best friend.

"Man, we almost stabbed you there." Hekapoo said, rubbing the back of her neck. She looked back to the blonde princess, and said, "Anyway, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be, like, at princess training or something?"

"Princess training?" Star chuckled, "Hekapoo, it's the weekend! The time when I'm free from the clutches of books on my head and raised pinky fingers. Which, by the way, is the perfect time to give you this!"

The princess opened and dug into the star-shaped satchel by her side. Her hand rummaged around it for a bit as she seemingly muttered and cursed to herself, and after a quick exchange of confused glances between the duo, pulled out a golden envelope, raising it above her head like a sword.

"Ta-da~! Your invitation to The Annual Black Rose Masquerade!" She exclaimed, swaying the envelope for emphasis.

As soon as the princess' words reached her ears, Hekapoo's eyes went as wide as her gaping mouth. "Whoa, really?" The demon asked as Star got on her knee and handed her the envelope, as if she was handing over a ceremonial wand of some sort.

Marco, however, was a bit confused at the scene in front of him. With his one eyebrow still arched up, he asked, "The Black Rose Masquerade? What's that?"

"Oh, nothing," Star said as she got up, "Just the most romantic and mysterious event of the _year!_ "

"Yeah," Hekapoo added as she read through her invitation, "Every year, people get invited to the masquerade in the Fancy Shmancy Dimension, way up in the sky. I never got invited myself 'cause... well... I got married a bunch of times and stuff, but I heard it's really cool. There's free food and drinks, you get to dance no matter if you're alone or not, and it's in the Fancy Shmancy Dimension! The masquerade's _bound_ to be in like a really grand manor."

She continued, "And those black roses they give out apparently have this magical romance stuff to them. If you give one to someone, the color can either stay black, or become red. Black means you two aren't compatible, and red means you two have a chance to hit it off."

"And if it _glows_ a rare, bright red, you two become soulmates!" Star exclaimed excitedly, throwing her arms up in the air, "And you two get to dance under a beautiful starry night sky, the whole dance floor all to yourselves... Oh, I can already feel my heart melting! Just imagine if it happens to me and Tom! Eeeee~!"

As the princess squealed in delight like a love-struck schoolgirl, Marco let out a short chuckle. With the way she said it, the masquerade sounded like loads of fun. Free food and drinks, a huge manor, a Fancy Schmancy Dimension he never heard of; all seemed like ingredients for a entertaining weekend night.

Oh, and super romantic. He guessed there's that too.

He smiled at the thought of it. Him and Hekapoo, chowing down on overpriced rich people food while making fun of the other people there, mimicking their accents and manners like a pair of children. Oh, how fun he thought it would be.

However, Hekapoo seemed to be having way more seperate thoughts than his. And from the looks of it, they weren't good thoughts. Ever since Star had uttered Tom's name, she had gotten tense; her body became stiff as a board, she started sweating like she ran a thousand miles, and although she tried to look cool, there were clear sign of nervousness seeping out through her features.

It was only when Star was babbling on about stories told to her concerning the masquerade did Marco noticed this, and he raised an eyebrow as a result. Thinking it was just the noon heat that was causing her tenseness, he ignored it for a bit. It was only when she started awkwardly fidgeting her fingers behind her back did he sense something was bothering her. He decided to ask her what was wrong, but cut off by Star before he could say anything.

"...And those are the one-hundred and one reasons why it'll be even more fun with you, Hekapoo!" She exclaimed in a professional manner (complete with a business attire she poofed out of her wand), then almosy immediately, reverted back to her childish demeanor, "So come on, Hekapoo! Pllease say you'll go! Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease! It will be way less fun without you! Pleasepleaseplease, oh, pretty please~!"

Star got on her knees and knee walked towards Hekapoo, hugging her legs tight as if it was her life force while continuously pleading for her to come. This seemed to have removed most of the mysterious tenseness she was having, as the demon couldn't help but let out a chuckle, shaking her head at her former future daughter-in-law's child-like antics.

She patted her blonde hair, and said (with a slight quiver that Marco could tell), "W-well, I've... never been to one of these before, and... I've always wanted to go. Plus, I get to try that new dress I bought a few days ago, so... s-sure! W-why the heck not?"

" _Yay!_ " At her words, Star sprang up like a jack-in-a-box and gave the demon a big hug, jumping in place like a cheery kid on Christmas morning. Hekapoo couldn't help but laugh alongside her.

As the former relatives had their merriments, Marco couldn't help but laugh as well. Star's childishness was just too amusing to not chuckle at, and Hekapoo's laughs never failed to bring a smile to his face.

But then, a thought suddenly came to the forefront of Marco's mind, a thought which managed to flick his smile off like a light switch.

"Whoa wait, what about me?" He asked.

The two girls immediately stopped their excitement at his words, and looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Huh?" Star said.

"I don't get an invitation?" Marco said as he looked between the two, a hint of worry present in his eyes.

"Oh... uh..." Star began rubbing the back of her neck and glanced to the side, seemingly avoiding Marco's gaze, "You see, the invitations are like, really secure and stuff. You need to have an invitation made by the staff for you in order to get in, you can't just get in with someone else's."

The boy frowned at this. "So, I don't get to go with her?" He pointed his finger towards the demon. After hearing what the masquerade was like from them, he was excited for it. He had already thought of all the things he and Hekapoo could do, which is probably why his question hadn't gotten to him. And now, it could all be useless if he couldn't even go with her.

"Hmm..." Hekapoo hummed, cupping her chin in thought as she tried to think of something. After a moment, she suggested, "Maybe we could sneak him in? Since it's a masquerade, there's gonna be lots of people with masks. The guards would have a hard time finding him."

Hearing her idea, Marco's hope rose. It may be a bit illegal, but if it could get him inside, then so be it. However, much to Marco's disappointment, the princess shook her head. "No, we can't. The security there is _tight._ I'd be surprised if we can even get him past the lift."

The boy's frown deepened. "So... what? I just... stay at home?"

"Preeetty much, yeah." Star shrugged as she sent him an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Marco."

"Aw..." The boy hung his head low, and let his arms limp in defeat. Unless they could come up with any better ideas to get him in, looks like Marco would have to stay at home... alone... without Hekapoo...

Seeing his seeping sadness, Hekapoo frowned. "Hey, come on now Marco. Don't be like that." She approached his side and patted his shoulder, "Maybe I could... I don't know... snap you a few pictures of the place and send them to you? Probably even get you a few fancy souvenirs. How's that sound?"

With a downcast sigh, he nodded his head. "Alright, I guess. I mean, I probably couldn't get in even with an invitation since I don't have a suit. Heka made me burn the one I got a few days ago."

With an incredulous look on her face, Star turned to Hekapoo. "You made burn him a suit? Why?"

"It was necessary, alright!" Hekapoo exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air, clearly annoyed, "Like, really, _really_ necessary!"

* * *

Once Star's little visit was over, the entire afternoon had gone by in a flash. It was more so for Hekapoo, who had been a bundle of excitement throughout the whole day, chattering about the masquerade and fondling over the invitation she had been handed to ("Did you know that these envelopes are made of an even rarer type of gold? I think it was called 'austrailium' or something.").

And now, as the sun was making its way down the orange horizon, it was time to get ready.

Hekapoo and Marco were in the demon's room. She was preparing herself behind a divider right by her desk which, thanks to Marco's insistence, now had a full body mirror beside it. Hekapoo never really found much use for it before, saying how she was fine with just using her mirror phone, but as she looked over herself more times than she could count now, she was pleased she had gotten one. She could just imagine how bothersome it would be having to use such a tiny mirror to look over her whole body.

As the demon got ready for one of the most exciting nights of her life, Marco sat down on her bed on the other side of the room. His legs dangled over the edge, and his head was propped up on his arms as he stared into space. The gears in his head creaked and turned, his mind seemingly pondering over the oncoming event.

"Remind me again why Star couldn't just _make_ an invitation?" Marco asked as he looked towards the divider, "I mean, can't her wand make anything out of thin air?"

"Because each of these invitations have different symbols on them, all memorized by the staff." The demon responded, her shadow on the divider showing her squeezing her head into a dress, "It's so that no one can just make a fake invitation and walk in, they'd have to have a different symbol from everybody else, which also needs to be a valid one."

Marco frowned at the reminder. _'Man, Star wasn't kidding when she said tight.'_

Sighing, he plopped down onto the bed, arms spread out at his sides. "Well, that's just great. Looks like I'll be staying here all night bored out of my mind with nothing to do."

Hekapoo, who had been slinking an arm through her dress, turned to him.

"Dude, it can't be that bad. There's still some fun stuff you can do here alone, like watching TV, surfing through thousands of cat videos, or even going through Jackie's 'funny' and 'hilarious' Delayagram page." The demon said, her voice dripping with sarcasm by the last part.

"Yeah, but..." He lifted his head up and brought his gaze back to the divider, "Those aren't as fun without you."

Hekapoo snorted in amusement as her shadow shook its head, eliciting an eyebrow raise from Marco. Before he could question her, she turned back to him. "Oh, come on now, Marco. They're still fun to do without me." She assured him as she went back to her dress, "And if you get bored with them, I'm sure you'll find some other form of entertainment while I'm gone. There's ton of other things to do here."

"Hm..." Marco dropped his head back down onto the fabric of the bed. He tried to think of some fun pastimes to do while she was gone, but found that he couldn't. The ones he thought of either heavily involved the demon herself, or would bore him the second he gets to them.

As he continued to ponder, the demon began grunting and murmuring curses, clearly frustrated with something. Curious, Marco brought his head back up, and saw Hekapoo's shadow reaching for something on its back, most likely a zipper.

"Want some help?" He asked.

Hekapoo continued to grunt for a bit, and with a sigh, said, "Uh yeah, sure!"

Marco got up from the bed and walked over to her. Being a gentleman (and not wanting to get slapped by Hekapoo for staring at her possibly bare back), he turned his head away as he made his way behind the divider, then began feeling for the zipper. It took a few moments for his fingers to finally grab hold of the small metal. He quickly pulled it up, zipping the dress close.

"Thanks, dude." Hekapoo said as Marco walked away from the divider.

The boy made his way back over to the bed and sat back down, watching her go through her make up kit. Her hands waved over the box on her desk for a moment, before reaching down and fishing out some lipstick. She turned away from the kit and faced the mirror, her shadow's back to turned him.

The boy watched as she began tending to her lips, and he couldn't fight off the slight look of distaste on his face. After a few silent moments, he spoke up, "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, do you have to dress up _that_ much?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" She asked, her shadow turning back to face him.

"W-Well..." He began rubbing the back of his neck, a sudden wave of nervousness splashing onto him and his words, "Y-You already look good in your... usual dress. You know, with no makeup. I mean, you don't really need to... uh... dress up that much, really."

He heard Hekapoo snicker, and arched an eyebrow at her in confusion. The demon then popped her head up over the divider and looked at him, signs of a smile still on her face.

"Dude, I'm honestly flattered that you think that way. But you gotta learn that I'm still a woman," She brought her head back down and went back to her make up kit, "Just because I'm a demon who fights her ex-husbands on a near daily basis doesn't mean there's no piece of woman in me. I still like to do girl stuff, like dolling myself up sometimes, especially for an event like this."

She popped her head back up again. "I mean, do you really think I would go to such a fancy event with just my normal look?"

Marco shook his head. "No... not really?"

The demon gave him a curt nod. "Exactly." She dropped back down, "Plus, Tom's gonna be there. I don't want him to think his former stepmom is some lazy couch-crasher who has no fashion sense whatsoever."

"Hm, you have a good point. I wouldn't want _my_ stepson to think I'm a hobo living in a dump."

"Yeah, exactly." She said back.

Quietness hung around the duo once more. Hekapoo continued on with her makeup, now running an eyeliner along her eye, while Marco simply laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Then, a question popped into the boy's mind, and asked, "So what's the story between you and Tom?"

"Story?" Hekapoo asked, once again turning to look at him from behind the divider.

"Yeah, you seemed pretty tense when Star mentioned him." He said, then cupped his chin when another thought came, "Actually, I don't think you've ever talked about him besides a few mentions here and there. What's he like?"

"What's he like? Hmm..." The demon stroked her chin as she hummed in thought, "Well... I can definitely say he's nice. I expected him to be rude to me when I first met him, but he was quite respectful."

She tossed the eyeliner back into the kit, then picked up a puffer before continuing, "We played video games, hung out, did stepmom and son things, all that jazz. Sure, he may have had some anger management issues before, but most of it is gone now. All in all, he's a sweet kid."

"So why the nervousness?" Marco asked.

"I—um, well..." She began rubbing the back of her neck, her voice adopting a guilty tone, "I may or may not have made a promise before I left that I would call him once in a while, you know, to keep in touch and stuff."

"And you didn't." Marco guessed, to which Hekapoo nodded.

"My life was just too busy at the time. I married my 15th husband, got divorced, drank, and then got sent here. I just didn't have the time to call him, and I'm nervous about how he'll react to me being there."

"Oh don't worry, Heka," Marco assured her with a comforting smile, "You said he was nice, and you're his stepmom. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Yeah, I hope so." She said, the nervousness not lost in her voice.

Minutes passed by, and Hekapoo finally tossed the puffer back into the kit. She looked over herself on the mirror once more, then let out a sigh before walking out from behind the divider.

"So, how I do look?"

Marco pushed his body up from the bed once again and took his eyes towards the demon. In an instant, his eyes went as wide as his gaping mouth, awestruck by the sight in front of him.

Standing right by the divider, Hekapoo was dressed in an elegant gown, its obsidian black fabric hugging her figure just right. Just like her normal dress, it was strapless, but instead of a puffy gown, her dress flowed down to the floor, like a black colored stream going down a hillside. And as opposed to the fiery design of her usual getup, sparkling glitters dotted about almost everywhere on the black fabric. It was like staring at clusters of stars, all contained in one beautiful dress.

That wasn't the only thing that amazed him though. Looking up, he could see why Hekapoo wanted some makeup on. With the similarly black eyeliner and cherry red lipstick, she looked like someone who would make every guy go head over heels for her. It made her look ravishing, alluring, and if Marco had to admit, _beautiful._

"Whoa..." Marco muttered, his wide eyes taking it all in, "You... look... amazing..."

Feeling a bit of heat rise up her cheeks, the demon rubbed the back of her neck from the compliment. "You really think so?" She asked.

"Well, yeah! I mean, black really suits you. And that eyeliner is like... wow!" Marco spread his arms out in front of him, as if gesturing to all of her, "Now I can see why you went through all of that."

"Heh, well... thanks, dude," She said, her previous flush fading away at his words.

Although he was amazed by Hekapoo's appearance, a small part of him started to envy her. She was going to a party where almost everyone would be dressed up like that, and he wasn't going to see any of that, nor was he going to see anymore of Hekapoo in that astonishing dress, nor was he going to be having fun with her. The despairing thought of having to spend his entire night completely alone came back, and it saddened him once again.

With a sigh, he looked off to the side and began rubbing his arm. "Ugh, great, now I'm getting all sad because I can't go with you again. Dangit..."

Seeing Marco's frown, the demon shook her head. He wasn't going let that go, was he? "Alright, come here," She walked over to the bed and sat down beside him, cautiously as to not wrinkle her dress.

She brought an arm over his shoulders, and spoke, "Okay, how about this. After the party, when I get home, we'll go have an all-nighter movie night. Just you, me, a bunch of snacks, and a whole night worth of movies of your choice. How's that sound, hm?"

Letting out another sigh, Marco simply shrugged. "Yeah, alright. I guess that'll be fine." He said, a bit saddened still. Oh well, at least his _entire_ night won't be boring.

At that, Hekapoo smiled, and lightly punched his arm before she got up and made her way over to the round window. Marco smiled as well, though remnants of his frown still remained as he followed her.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," she said as she looked back at him, putting on a glittery black mask she snatched up from her desk along with her invitation.

Once there, she pushed the window open, letting the cool evening breeze flow into the room, to which Marco recoiled into his hoodie to shelter himself from the cold. With the golden envelope in her hand, she opened it up and pulled the sheet of paper out.

On the top right corner, above various words written in a neat cursive, there was her invitation's symbol; it was the head of a rose, though instead of the petals being red, they were a strange combination of a fiery orange and a cold blue, like a clash of frost and flame. Hekapoo thought it was weird the first time she had seen it, but ultimately shrugged it off.

Having read the invitation's instructions countless times earlier, she placed her thumb on top of the symbol. A small jolt of electricity immediately ran throughout her hand at the contact, and a short moment later, a beam of yellow, angelic light came down from the skies in front of the demon, quickly followed by a golden, fancy looking elevator.

With a ding, the shiny doors slid open, revealing an interior mixed with marble and gold, flooded by the same yellow light as the one that surrounded the elevator. It was an elevator definitely fit for the wealthy, and it no doubt left Hekapoo and Marco awestruck.

Right by a panel of buttons was a tall gentleman, who seemed to be wearing a butler's outfit, complete with coat tails and a bow tie. His hands were behind his back, and he had his chin up in a well-mannered fashion, like a man ready to take orders from a queen. He also had a whisker-like mustache which curled at the ends, and from what the demon could see, a neatly groomed toupee that sat atop on his head, probably covering a bald spot he may have had.

"Going up, madam?" The butler asked in a typical British accent, his fancy mannerisms rocketing up through the roof.

"Uh, yea—I mean, yes! Up, please, thank you." Hekapoo said, trying to level her manners with him, although she knew she couldn't even match with a sliver of his fanciness.

She put the invitation back into a pocket on her dress and picked her skirt up with both hands, stepping up onto the window sill with carefulness. It took a moment for her to get her footing right, and when she did, she leapt over and landed on the elevator floor with a grunt.

She pulled the rest of her dress into the elevator, then looked back at Marco. He was glancing about at the elevator with the same level of awe she had, but when his eyes met Hekapoo's, it faded away, replaced by another frown. The demon could only do nothing but pity. She really wanted him to come with her, but without an invitation for him and practically no other way in, there was not much she could do.

Then, a ding emanated from behind her, and she glanced back to see that the butler had already pressed the button for the Fancy Shmancy Dimension. With not much time left, she turned back to Marco and did what she could only do for now.

She smiled. "I'll see you later, Marco."

And with that, the elevators slid to a close. The elevator itself dipped down for a moment before it suddenly shot up into the sky like a slingshot. Marco ran up to the window and brought his gaze up at the starry night sky, watching as the speck of gold that once was the elevator shrank by the second, before finally disappearing into the heavens up above.

Marco's gaze lingered at the stars for a bit, staring longingly at where the speck once was. Then, with a drawn out sigh, he pushed himself off the windowsill and closed the window.

 _'Well, time to start this lonely weekend night, I guess.'_

* * *

As soon as the golden doors slid to a close, the elevator shot up into the sky. Hekapoo stumbled about from the incredible speed before grabbing a hold onto a nearby handle for support. She held on tight and clenched her teeth hard. Her insides felt like blobs of jello floating around inside her, and she tried her best not to spray her dinner all over the nice interior.

It felt like being in a rocket, but without the seat belts. Or seats. They were going so fast that, even from inside four walls of solid gold, she could hear the wind outside whiz and whistle past the elevator. A plane had probably flown under them at some point, but she wouldn't know, as she all she could hear was wind.

While the demon tried to keep her dinner in, the butler simply stood upright by the panel of buttons, his chin up and hands behind his back, as if he was completely impervious to the laws of physics.

Half a minute had passed, and Hekapoo was starting to lose her grip on her dinner. She could feel the vomit reaching up her throat, its acidic taste making her gag even more. One more second in this elevator, and she could say goodbye to her new dress.

And then, without any warning whatsoever, the elevator instantly stopped, going from one-hundred to zero in a split second. Following the laws of physics, the demon immediately lost her grip on the handle and jolted upwards, slamming her back onto the ceiling with a loud, metallic thud. Her body ungracefully fell back down to the ground afterwards, and she just laid there, moaning in pain from her pained everything.

"We have arrived." The butler announced, somehow still standing after all of that.

With shaky arms, Hekapoo lifted herself off the ground and onto her feet, wobbling around a bit from the utter dizziness (it's surprising how she managed to not vomit then and there). A moment later, a ding sounded, and the golden doors slid open.

The butler gestured his hand towards the outside. "Welcome to the Fancy Shmancy Dimension, madam. If you need an escort towards the palace, I'll be delighted to assist you."

Her nausea having subsided a bit, she waved a dismissive hand towards him. "No no, I'm fine, thank you." She said with a croaky voice as she wobbled her way to and out the doors, looking like a drunk to anyone else around.

After stepping out of the elevator and hearing a "Have a wonderful night, madam!" from the butler, the doors behind her slid to a close once more and descended back down to the Earth, which now left her standing on some kind of cloud. Once she had recomposed herself, she lifted her head up to take a look of her surroundings.

And like a child in an expensive toy store, her eyes widened at such... _fanciness._

Right under a starry night sky, she stood on top of a massive cloud island surrounded by other distant islands, all lit up like the stars above. Everywhere around her were several creatures of different shapes and sizes clad in the fanciest dresses and suits she had probably ever seen (more fancy than hers, at least). A few wore simpler clothing while still maintaining their extravagance, while some looked like they went all out with their wardrobe, going as far as to practically cover themselves with various jewels and diamonds.

Heck, there could probably be a literal walking, sentient diamond covered with other smaller jewels and gems somewhere on the island.

That wasn't all, though—they weren't even the main reason for her awe. In front of her, just a rather short walking distance away, was a massive, _massive_ manor, likely the size of an entire football field. It seemed to be divided into three main areas; there was big, rectangular middle part, and then there were two other parts by the sides, still rectangular but smaller than the middle. It was only the middle that had a cream white triangular roof; the other two parts were just flat, most likely for wide open balconies.

Its walls were white and pristine like a pearl, lit up with a warm orange by spotlights located at the bottom that ran along them. Tall windows were placed symmetrically, and from where the demon stood, she could see a few guests inside chattering and roaming about. And lastly, two sets of grand double doors were located at the middle part, and beside them stood two bulky guards in suits, who verified the invitations of arriving guests and handed black roses to the men.

After noticing she had been gaping for well over a minute now, she shut her mouth up and fixed herself up a bit, smoothing out a few wrinkles in her dress and adjusting her mask. When she was satisfied, she took a deep, calming breath, and made her way to—

"Hekapoo!" But before the demon could even take a step, she was instantly tackled and locked into a bear hug by Star.

The blonde princess, who had her hair tied up in a bun and was dressed in a pink ballerina-like outfit, complete with white gloves and knee-high socks, continued to squeal like a love struck fan girl. "Oh my gosh, you're here! I can't believe it!"

"Ack! Star!" Hekapoo managed to wheeze out, poking at Star's shoulder with her one free hand, "Gack! Star, let go! Air! Air!"

"Oh, sorry!" Star released the demon from and shot her an apologetic look, which immediately disappeared when her eyes landed upon Hekapoo's dress.

She gasped in awe. "Oh. Em. Gee~! Your dress! It's so beautiful!" The princess squealed as she started circling the demon, scanning her dress in every angle like some sort of excited art critic, "Just... wow! Holy wow cow shamow! Black like... really fricking suits you!"

"Heh, thanks, Star." Hekapoo croaked out, still recovering from Star's affectionate assault.

Before the two could say anything else, however, there was another voice from behind the demon, who said, "I'll have to agree with Starship over here. Black really suits you."

As soon as she heard it, Hekapoo's body stiffened like a statue, a single bead of sweat running down her temple. No matter where she was, she could recognize that voice from anywhere—a voice which she, admittedly, was terrified to hear, most especially when it mentioned her in any way.

Like a robot with its hand caught in a cookie jar, she turned her stiff body around, hands by her side and lips thinned to a line, and reluctantly met the cause of her nervousness.

"Tom!" Star squealed out, making her way around Hekapoo and tackling the younger, suit clad demon with another one of her bear hugs.

He grunted and stumbled back from the force. But unlike the older demon, Tom managed to return the gesture, squeezing his arms out from her hug and wrapping them around her.

"Hey, Star." He greeted, smiling at the bundle of joy in his arms, "Sorry I was a little late. Had to deal with some... uh... stuff... back home."

"Oh, pfft! Don't worry about, it's totally fine!" She said, and broke away from the hug, "And now that you're here, you finally get to talk to Hekapoo!"

The older demon had to restrain herself from running away screaming and jumping off the edge of the island at that point. She couldn't even face him properly; her eyes just kept darting to anywhere but him. It was as if looking at him would kill her, either by the overwhelming guilt or by his own fiery, and very likely outrage.

An awkward yet intense silence hung around the group as the two demons semi-faced each other. There was no outrage despite what Hekapoo thought, so it was safe for her to assume that Tom _at least_ wasn't furious up to his boiling point. But that didn't mean she would look at him now.

Star, meanwhile, was having trouble keeping her smile up despite the awkwardness. Her hands joined each other under her chin, and her eyes continued to shift between the two demons. Her smile was quivering, and her cheeks were starting to hurt. She had to get them to talk to each other somehow; anything to get rid of the quietness.

So, after racking her brain for some kind of plan, she came to realize that she had absolutely no idea what to do, and said, "Well then, I'm just gonna leave you guys here to talk to each other and do all sorts of other reunion-y stuff! If you guys need me, I'll be inside."

After throwing a couple of finger guns their way, she promptly walked backwards away from the demons towards the palace, her awkward smile still present on her face.

The two demons watched the princess as she nearly tripped over a lump of cloud she couldn't see. Once she was a fair distance away, Tom shook his head and turned back to Hekapoo.

"So, um... it's been a while, Hekapoo," he managed to say, though it sounded a bit forced, as if it was said through reluctance.

The older demon didn't respond for a second—her awkwardness and guilt still taking her ability to talk. She could see Tom in her peripheral looking at her with a very neutral face, which did nothing at all to help rid of her awkwardness.

Eventually, she managed to suck up the bit of courage left in herself, and with a deep breath and a stammering voice, she finally said back, "Y-Yeah, i-it's been a while, T-Tom... I- um... y-yeah..."

Tom could only meekly nod that. And with as much spite to his reluctance as before, he said, "Yeah... um, so I heard you've been divorced recently. 15th husband, right?"

"Uh huh..." Hekapoo replied, "Yup, it... sort of got me all... depressed and gave me alcohol addiction, which got me sent to Earth and stuff."

The younger demon nodded once again. "Ah, I see. It's no wonder I haven't heard from you in... months." Even though his look seemed to be one of understanding, his voice by the end took on a more downcast, and slightly frustrated tone.

And Hekapoo could tell. The demon sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She couldn't take it anymore; this needed to end now.

"Okay, look Tom. I can't deal with this awkwardness anymore. I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry," she said, lightly gripping on her hair, "I can understand that you're a bit mad at me for not keeping up with my promise, alright? Your anger is completely justified."

She looked up at him, and continued, "But please know that I had a whole lot of other things to deal with besides keeping in touch with you. I mean, I had work, I got depressed and addicted, and... all that other jazz I don't want to talk about right now. And I honestly wish I had more time for you. I really do."

Hekapoo let out droopy sigh. "But... that's all in the past now, and I can't change that. Now, if you want to hate me to the ends of the multiverse, go ahead. Like I said, your anger's justified."

As Tom looked down at the now downhearted demon, he sighed in a tired tone. He could deal with not seeing her for months, but seeing her all sad like that was just something he didn't want to see, especially in front of a bunch of people heading towards the fanciest party of the year.

"Look, Hekapoo," He started, prompting the older demon to look up at him, "I'm... I'm not mad, alright? Well, not at you, at least."

She raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean by that?"

He just shook his head. "I-It's nothing you need to worry about. Listen, I understand what you're saying. You had your own problems to deal with; problems that need more attention than me. That's a completely valid reason to me. And unless you were lying to me, which I highly doubt, then you don't need to be sorry for anything."

Once he finished, Hekapoo let out a breath she hadn't know she was holding. It felt like a lot of weight just hopped off her shoulders from his words, and she lightened up a bit.

"Well, thanks Tom. For you know, forgiving me and stuff."

He nodded. "No probs." He then gestured a hand to the manor, "Now let's get inside before we get all sappy and cry and hug each other, potentially weirding a lot of people and getting escorted off the island."

"Alright." With that, the two began making their way inside, a lot of their problems left behind and forgotten.

"Hey, it's your first time here, right?" Tom suddenly asked.

"Yeah, why?"

He shrugged and said with a smirk, "Just wanted to let you know that there's a chance you _might_ meet your 16th husband here."

Hekapoo simply rolled her eyes, a slight smile of her own on her face as she lightly punched him on the arm. "Oh frick off, Tom."

As the older demon chuckled and got inside, Tom lingered outside for a bit, his smile fading once she was out of his sight. He then looked over to the right-hand side of the manor, where he could a number of shadowed figures making their way into a side entrance—figures which he knew very, _very_ well.

With a frustrated sigh, he muttered, "Please don't mess this night up for her, dad..."

* * *

The masquerade was, to quote the demon herself, "Very fancy... so very fancy schmancy..."

As soon as she entered the manor, she was met with a grand set of carpeted stairs, leading up to the party hall where the masquerade was being held. A few guests chatted and roamed about in the main hall, all bathed in an orange light coming from a massive chandelier high above.

She headed up the stairs, gaping at everything along the way, and entered through the grand doors to the party hall. And as expected, her wonderment had rocketed to the roof.

Everything, from the quaint walls to the many masked guests around, were bathed in a soft, golden light produced by the copious amounts of candelabras all around and the massive crystal chandeliers up above.

All around, as far as she could see, were an abundant amount of neat, white-clothed tables, each having at least five to six fine mahogany chairs, a vase of roses and a lit candelabra or two. Guests had already filled a majority of the tables, chattering and giggling with their peers.

At the center of it all was a wide open area, square and with a checkered floor like the rest. It was quite obvious it was the dance floor to her, considering there were already a few masked couples dancing to the music. To the sides were long rows of buffet tables, three on each one and all manned by two to three butlers (who she noticed all looked very similar to the one she was accompanied with a while ago). They all had different arrays of food to choose from; one had a few Earth cuisines she was familiar with like lobster and caviar, while others had more... _unusual_ choices.

Food wasn't the only thing being served though. Up by a wall was a large bar, basked in low, golden lights that hung above them. Shelves affixed to the walls held up an assorted set of beverages—all alcoholic, of course. They ranged from the plain but classic whiskey she was most familiar with, to beverages she had never even seen before, let alone drunk. And of course, after hearing they were all free, Tom had a bit of struggle dragging Hekapoo away from the bars.

Finally, to top it all off, opposite to the entrance was an orchestra of immense size. The sounds of melodic pianos and heavenly violins accompanied by thick double basses and swingy trumpets made Hekapoo's ears tingle in delight. It sounded like a classic orchestra with a hint of jazz mixed in; a mix which she absolutely adored when she first heard it.

It was all new and exciting to her. She had quite a bit fun for the first hour, exploring the area, dancing with Tom and Star, trying out new food (and promptly going to the bathroom to vomit a few of them out afterwards), and just generally being amazed by everything, like how a mesmerized child in a big castle would.

But then, after an hour, it started to get a little... _boring._ Her initial euphoria had already faded away, and her excitement for everything had slowly dwindled as the minutes passed by, until it was reduced to absolutely nothing.

Now she was just sitting at a table alone, holding a glass of grape juice (the closest thing she could get to wine without Tom stopping her) as she watched various other guests going about and having fun. The music had turned speedier and happier in tune not too long ago, and as a result, the dance floor brimmed with loads of delightful couples, all eager to dance the night away.

Looking at them all, she sighed, and rubbed the bridge of her nose through the eye holes of her mask.

She was not having fun.

And of course, when Star had decided to take a break from dancing with Tom to check on the demon, only to see her bored and _not having fun,_ the princess tried her very best to get her out of that chair and get her groove on.

She tried dragging her by her arm, only to have her hands slip, resulting in her bumping into a nearby guest, who subsequently fell on top of a nearby candelabra. Medical staff arrived minutes later, and the burnt guest was taken away into the infirmary in another part of the manor.

After that, Star tried going for more extreme methods, like blasting her off the chair with magic, and even conjuring up a wrecking ball. Thankfully, a nearby butler managed to stop her both times, and she was let off with only a warning.

After many failed tries to get her to dance and mingle around, Star finally decided to give up, and left the demon to get another cupcake (they were surprised they even served that). When it was Tom to try, he didn't try much. He just asked why she was sitting all alone, and when all he got was a tired sigh, he nodded in understanding.

"Well, just try to enjoy yourself, okay? I'm gonna go get a drink." He had said before he walked off to the bar.

Once he was gone, Hekapoo was finally left alone at her table. No further attempts by Star to get her off the chair were made, though the demon could sometimes see her off to the sides, tapping her chin as if she was devising a plan—a plan which she thankfully never enacted.

The demon sighed once again as she swirled the juice in her glass, her head propped upon her fist. She wanted to have fun, she really did. It was just that there was just something—or rather, someone—that was missing, and without them, she found all she could do really _boring._

And she knew exactly who it was. There was no room for doubt that if Marco were there, she wouldn't be bored as all heck. If he were around, they would probably go around and eat all the food they could, dance to some fast-paced orchestra while trying not step on people's toes, explore some restricted areas just so that the demon could make fun of the boy and his safe-kid-ness, and after all of that, they would go outside and sit at the palace stairs, watching the stars above until they both fell asleep—something the two found quite fond over the past few weeks.

As her mind delved through all the fun and hilarious scenarios they could get themselves into, Hekapoo couldn't help but smile and chuckled at them all.

"If only you were here, Marco." The demon took a sip of her wine and leaned back onto her chair. She looked up at a chandelier above her, and pondered.

"I wonder how's he doing..."

* * *

Meanwhile, miles back down on Earth, Marco sunk further into the living room couch, his thumb robotically pressing on the next channel button of the TV remote. The lights weren't turned on, which left the patterned flickers of the TV and the seeping moonlight be the only sources of light.

On the coffee table was a bowl of chips along with a can of soda, both of which were barely consumed. Right next to those was a neat stack of video game cases. They hadn't been opened though; the disks themselves were still safe and sound inside. In fact, everything on the table was barely touched. Game controllers, board games, playing cards—all of them hadn't seen much use.

When he switched through the set of channels for what felt like the tenth time, Marco sighed, and decided to just turn the TV off. With the room now dim, he tossed the remote aside and rubbed his tired eyes.

He hadn't been having as much fun as he wanted to.

Once Hekapoo had left, and he was left alone with the house all for himself, Marco spent the first few minutes of his unwanted seclusion figuring out what he was actually going to do. Throughout the whole day, amongst numerous ways on how to go with Hekapoo to the masquerade; he had developed a rough idea of what his nightly schedule composed of; which, to say, wasn't much. It was mostly composed of gorging on some snacks, playing video games, gorging on some more snacks, checking Jackie's Delayagram page, and then gorging on even more snacks.

It was a simple set of activities he thought would keep him up, at least until Hekapoo returned. But he thought wrong. Not even an hour into his lonely night, and he was already bored out of his mind. The games he played that never failed to keep him entertained in any other situations found themselves short of their purpose, and he didn't have the appetite to eat anything at all right now.

Even checking on Jackie's Delayagram page had left him with nothing but monotony. In any other time, he would be laughing at anything Jackie had posted, and if not, it would at least bring a smile on his face. But now, he hadn't even smiled once.

In fact, he found himself _frowning._ Never in his life had these pastimes made him sad rather than happy. And he did them nearly every weekend! It was like all the things that once brought him joy and entertainment were now cursed to bring him sadness.

And after staring at the front door for the last five minutes, he now knew why.

 _"Those aren't as fun without you."_

And indeed, they weren't. In almost every little activity he did, whether it be browsing through cat videos on the internet or getting ice cream, Hekapoo was there for a majority of it. He couldn't pinpoint the exact reason, but whenever he did things with her, whether big and grand or small and insignificant, he had always managed to become more chipper than he expected himself to be.

Maybe it was the way she made things more interesting, like how she would often talk about the Mewni equivalent of such item, or what they called it back there, or how she once saw a drunk, homeless bat guy get mauled by a three-headed slime dragon while singing old sea shanties like a pirate.

Or maybe it was the fact that he had someone with him; someone who he could talk to and laugh with while he did this thing and that thing; someone who would make doing such a monotonous task be less boring.

Or maybe... maybe it was because that someone was her; that someone was Hekapoo. Not someone else like Alfonzo, Fergurson or Janna, but _her_ specifically. No one else; just... _her..._ _Hekapoo..._

But, whatever the reason was, he wouldn't know now. The main point was that whenever he was with Hekapoo, it was guaranteed he would have fun.

But she wasn't with him now; he was completely alone inside a dark living room on a dreary weekend night, with only his own thoughts as company.

Marco sighed once again as he sunk into the couch even further, his lower legs well under the coffee table. He looked towards his faint reflection on the lifeless TV. The screen was gloomy and had no color to it at all, which made his already insipid mirror self look even more so than it already was.

After a minute of frowning at it, Marco looked away from his colorless self and then brought his eyes over to a window, where he could a sliver of the starry night outside. He contemplated many times throughout the night of going out to find some way up to masquerade. Maybe he could find some magic-wielding royal and convince them to forge him an invitation. His mom knew the Queen of Mewni, so she must know other royals, right?

But, just like all the other plans he had come up with, that one was part of the stupid ones. There was practically no chance of a magic-wielding royal actually forging him an invitation, and if there was one, then the chance of his mom knowing them is as low as the Underworld. Plus, he didn't even have a suit and a mask to go with, and it was guaranteed he would get kicked out without proper dress code.

The boy continued to stare off at the stars outside, this time with a frown. Unless some magical fairy godparent would poof into existence right beside him and give him an invitation along with a suit and mask, then it looks like he was going to be staying at home alone for the re—

"Wonderful evening isn't it, sir?"

"AH!" The boy yelped, jumping up from the couch, and falling down onto the floor with thud afterwards. Ignoring the pain in his back, he quickly got up and snapped his body around, panting and shaky-eyed.

Standing right beside the couch was the same butler he had seen inside Hekapoo's elevator. His appearance and manners hadn't changed at all from what he could see. He was holding a brass, lit candlestick in one hand, and his other was placed behind him. How Marco hadn't noticed the candle's light seconds ago, he didn't know.

"Y-Your that elevator butler from earlier!" Marco exclaimed, pointing a trembling finger at the man, "H-How did you get in here?!"

The butler remained unmoving as he said, "Your back door was unlocked, sir. Sorry if I disturbed you in any way."

 _'Well, you certainly did more than disturb me, holy jeez.'_

Marco took a second or two to catch his breath. After which, he let out a sigh, looked back up at the butler, and asked, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be like... serving guests or something back up in the Fancy Schmancy Dimension?"

"I should be." The butler replied, "However, after watching you... 'moping around' for quite a while now, I feel as though it was time I came down and assisted you."

Marco furrowed his eyebrows at the man. "What do you mean 'assist me'? And how the heck were you able to watch me from way up high?"

His latter question went ignored as the butler straightened up a bit, then asked, "Tell me, Sir Marco Ubaldo Diaz, how close are you to Lady Hekapoo?"

The boy raised an eyebrow. "How close am I to her? What kind of question is that?"

"Sir, just answer the question, please."

Marco glanced off to the side for a moment, pursing his lips in thought. "Um... well, we are pretty close." He said, bringing his eyes back to the butler.

The man nodded at his answer. "Good. Now tell me, how close are you to her _exactly?_ "

"Uh..." His eyes dropped to the floor, contemplative as he scrutinized both the question asked and his relationship with his best friend. The butler simply stood still, awaiting his response.

After what could have been a minute, he looked back up and responded, "W-Well, we're really close. Like, _really_ close. We... practically do everything together. We eat together, we walk home together, we fight monsters together. We even get ready for school together, and she's not even a student."

Once again, the butler reacted with a nod, only this time it was a bit more pronounced than the previous one, which Marco took as a sign he had answered correctly.

The man took his eyes to look at Marco again and said, "Now, answer this: how much do you want to be with Lady Hekapoo now? How badly do you want to be together with her tonight, even if it would be for just a single moment?"

Marco narrowed his eyes in suspicion. The butler's wording was a little off to him. Something about the way he had phrased the question, and the way he said it with such interest had him thinking there was a hidden reason—an ulterior motive, of sort—behind his interrogation.

But even if he had thought right, it wouldn't have mattered anyway since he wouldn't know what that motive actually was.

After a half-minute of silent pondering, Marco finally said back, "Um, I guess... very much?"

The butler stood motionless at his response. Knowing what it meant, Marco let out a sigh.

"Alright, I really, really, _really_ want to be up there with her. I want to try out some fancy food with her, dance to some fast-paced orchestra music or whatever with her, and do some late night stargazing with her. I really want to hang out with my best friend and have a fun weekend night other instead of... this!" He gestured to the living room around him, his disgust with it evident on his face.

For the third time, the butler nodded. But this time, Marco could see the beginning of a smile forming on his face—the first one he had ever seen the man make.

"Well, that settles it then." He said, pulling his hand behind his back out and digging it into his sleek jacket. It rummaged around for a bit, eliciting sounds of rustling paper and cloth, before carefully pulling out a golden envelope, similar to the one that held Hekapoo's invitation.

Marco's eyes widened at the sight, and they widened even more when the butler offered it to him. "Whoa, I—uh... um..."

"No need to utter a word, sir. This invitation here has been carefully forged by me, and is guaranteed to get you inside the masquerade and to Lady Hekapoo. Just present the symbol on the invitation itself to the guards, and you'll be able to get inside."

Still gaping from the surprise he stammered out, "B-But why? W-why would you give this to me?"

"Well, you have said you wanted to spend time with your best friend, have you not?" The butler replied, one end of his mouth turning upwards by a bit.

"W-wow..." Marco looked down at the invitation in absolute awe as he gingerly took it. He kept his widened eyes on it, running his thumb along the edges of the envelope.

"Oh, and before I forget..." Marco looked up at the butler once more, and what he was met with practically had his jaw crashing through the floor. In the grasp of the butler's free hand was a brilliant, white, two-piece tuxedo—encased safely in plastic and hung from a hanger, of course—and by his feet were a pair of black, pointy leather shoes that glimmered under the candle's light.

The tuxedo was sharp, classy, and not to mention spotless; there wasn't a single stain or speck that the boy could see. A bow tie black as the butler's own suit hung from the collar, and pinned near the left-hand chest pocket was a small rose, its red color contrasting nicely with the suit's white color.

"W-whoa..." He managed to utter through his speechlessness, "I-Is that mine...?"

"Of course!" The butler exclaimed, "Why else would I bring it out?"

The boy was completely as he continued to just stand there, his eyes sparkling with amazement like a kid looking at a beautiful, jeweled necklace. It was, by far, the most beautiful tuxedo he had ever seen in his entire life, and it was being offered to him.

The butler chuckled, amused by his display of wonderment. He then offered the tuxedo and shoes to him, which Marco took with timid hands. "Well, you better get changed." The butler said, "Your elevator awaits."

Marco looked down the tuxedo, shoes, and invitation in his hands, tsunamis of utter confusion and confoundment gushing throughout his mind. He was left mute and frozen for minutes.

Afterwards, the boy managed to bring his head to look at the butler once more, and with furrowed eyebrows, asked, "Who are you?"

A smirk took up the butler's lips, and he said, "Call me your fairy godfather."

* * *

After changing into his new tuxedo (which somehow manage to fit him perfectly), Marco made his way to the backyard and got into the golden elevator that awaited him—once he was done gaping at it, of course.

But just like Hekapoo's ascent, the second he stepped in, the elevator shot up into the sky like a slingshot. His body fell over and pressed hard into the floor from the strong, continuous force. He felt like his body was melting and merging with the elevator floor. He tried to get up and see if he could grab onto the nearby handles, but with the elevator going so fast, it was near impossible to get his hand even an inch off the ground.

Eventually, the elevator stopped with a _ding,_ and following the laws of physics, Marco promptly had his face smashed against the elevator ceiling—it was a wonder how his nose and teeth hadn't been broken into tiny pieces by that. After falling back down to the ground, similar to how a jellied sandwich would, Marco staggered out onto the massive cloud island, rubbing a hand onto his aching face and ignoring how the butler managed to stay upright through all of that.

Once the pain had subsided a bit, Marco fixed himself up—straightening his bow tie, dusting off his tuxedo, and making sure his mask was on—then walked on over to the manor's entrance. He tried to not go into "awestruck dummy" mode as he made his way there, feeling more self-conscious with all fancier latecomers around him heading in the same direction. It even got him to check himself two more times before he was sure that nothing was out of place.

Once he made it to the entrance, he fished his invitation out from his coat pocket and handed it to the guards. He was frozen and sweating buckets the whole time they looked over the contents. Giving a forged invitation to two big, muscular men who looked like they could snap a log with a single poke wasn't something he was very fond of.

Thankfully, it seemed that the multiverse was on his side as after half a minute, the guard gave a curt nod, placed the invitation back into the envelope, and informed him of where the masquerade was, giving him a black rose on his way. Marco stammered out a 'thank you' and speed walked away, his body stiff as a board. He let out a sigh of relief once he was near the stairs. He felt like he just infiltrated a secret military base, and he was darn sure he was never doing that or something similar ever again.

After climbing up the stairs—during which he, of course, looked at everything with wide, sparkling eyes—he walked over to the tall, fancy doors and entered the party hall. The place was absolutely packed when he got in; party guests were all over the place, and it was as dense as an overgrown forest. Everywhere, people chattered and laughed at their well-dressed peers' jokes, their merriment filling the atmosphere. And there were at least two dozen of couples out in the very center of the hall, dancing the night away to fast-paced classical played by the orchestra up front.

It seemed like everyone was having a wonderful time, but for the boy, their enjoyment was going to be great difficulty for him.

He tried to see past the mass of party guests in front of him, hoping to see any signs of his red-headed demon friend, but it was just too packed. He tried jumping up to get an aerial view, but a majority of the guests were too tall for him to get a view over them.

So, he resorted to calling out for her, "Heka!"

When there was no response, he tried again, "Heka!"

Again, there was no reply to his call. He huffed out a breath in result. After trying to get a clear sight past the crowds once more, he decided that he would make his way through them in hopes that by chance, he would be near enough that she could hear him.

And so he did, slithering past and around the numerous guests, uttering many pardons and apologies, and shouting out his best friend's name. It was, without a doubt, going to be long while before he would find her.

* * *

"Heka! Hekapoo!" He continued to call out.

Marco had been wandering through the crowd for a while now, slinking and squeezing through the swarm of high class guests like a lost child on a packed subway station. He had no clue what part of the party hall he was exactly at now. The only reference he had was the volume of the orchestra. It helped somewhat, but it was not enough for him to pinpoint where his exact location.

So he continued on making his way through the crowd, hoping that he would somehow bump into Hekapoo.

After squeezing through a few more groups of guests, he stumbled upon a small clearing of sorts. Taking the opportunity, he took a second or two to get some air. Being in a thick crowd of people whose perfume and cologne were the equivalent of tear gas to him was like taking a walk in a marshy swamp, and a hot one at that.

As he panted and fanned himself with his hand, he scanned his surroundings, hoping he would spot her amongst the sea of guests. That was, until someone from behind had shoved him, causing him to fall over and thud onto the floor hard.

Marco grunted once he hit the floor, and groaned from the pain now in his chest. After a second or two, he looked up to whoever had so rudely pushed him. He looked around a bit, and then spotted, just a few feet away from where he laid, two men, who bumped and shoved guests out of their way, eliciting a few curses thrown at them.

Marco rolled his eyes at them. _'What a pair of jerks...'_ He thought.

The boy was just about ignore them and get up when something peculiar hanging off one of the jerks caught his eye. Raising his eyebrow, he brought his eyes towards them again and squinted his eyes. He focused on the jerk at the last, and noticed something green hanging off his behind. It looked a lot like a tail.

An... alligator tail.

As soon as he realized it, his eyes widened and his heartbeat quickened by a bit. He blinked a few times, and squinted his eyes back at the supposed tail, seeing if he wasn't hallucinating from the heat. And indeed, he wasn't by the slightest, and it sent both his heart and breathing racing like horses.

No. No, there was no way that could be Buffgator. There was probably a thousand other bipedal alligators that looked just like him; it could just be someone else, and his paranoia was just messing with him.

The idea calmed him down, but it was only for a second as something else caught his eyes, and much to his fear, it confirmed his suspicions. In front of the supposed Buffgator was a taller, more buff man, and although it was partially hid behind the alligator, he could see a pair of demon horns on his head, surrounded by a wave of red, oiled, slick back hair.

Marco knew very well who those belonged to, without a doubt, and it nearly sent him into a panic attack.

As soon as the two men disappeared from his sight, he quickly got up from the ground. "Oh gosh, they're here! They're here! Of course they're here!" He uttered to himself in a frantic whisper.

The boy gripped his hair as he tried to calm himself down. Lucitor and his men were at the party, and there was no doubt they were going for Hekapoo.

And knowing her, the demon had most likely drunk four bottles of wine at this point. She could either be very vulnerable and defenseless, passed out somewhere in the manor, far away from everybody else (Marco shuddered at the horrible, _horrible_ thoughts that flooded his mind), or very irritated to the point where she could burn the entire manor down in a fit of rage.

None of those were good, not even in the slightest. He needed to warn her. He needed to find her, and take her far away from them before they did.

And so, he dove into the sea of guests once more. His movements grew more frantic as he hurried himself on finding his most likely drunk and unaware best friend, and he hoped to the ancient beings of the multiverse that he wouldn't be too late when he finds her.

* * *

Hekapoo sighed for what must have been the fourth time in a minute before downing another glass of wine, She was sitting at the bar, six empty wine glasses strewn about in front of her. The area where she was at had become too crowded; too full of guests enjoying themselves for her taste, and she decided to move to the bar, where it was somewhat quiet.

Being a bar at a party, there were a few fellow drinkers with her, of course. Most of them were lonely women who were drowning their sorrows with wine because they had yet to be given a rose. Some were just passerbys who wanted to get a little drink before going back to the party.

Then there was that one absolutely wasted couple who were the absolute best time of their lives and just wouldn't. Stop. LAUGHING!

Their laughs were so annoying; so ear-piercing! It was like someone was scratching a chalkboard while rubbing their hands on a balloon and scratching a fork on a plate—absolutely horrid! She was so tempted to throw one of her many glasses at them and tell them to shut their fancy, good-for-nothing mouths up, or perhaps she could march on over there and punch the livings lights out of the two herself—anything to get them to shut the frick up.

But, unfortunately for her, the consequences of such actions got to the forefront of her still sober mind, and she decided, with a groan, to just keep her frustrations in and ignore them the best she can.

Which, in turn, was a massive mistake. The more she listened to their shared merriment, her frustrations grew more and more, eventually reaching a point where it had turned into sadness, then self-deprecation. Her mind was running rampant with self-loathsome thoughts—thoughts that poked and stabbed her at her very core.

 _'Wow, look at you. You are the very definition of depressing.'_

 _'Look at those two, all smiles and having fun. Why can't you be them, huh?'_

 _'Man, just look at yourself. You are a worthless, alcoholic piece of trash with no hold of her emotions or her own life. That is just sad.'_

 _'Hey, you know what that couple has that you don't? Love. Pure fricking love. It's something you'll never have because you can't get your life in check, you good-for-nothing addict.'_

 _'You'll never find someone who'll love you, and it will stay that way for the rest of your life.'_

 _'You'll never experience real love.'_

 _'No one will ever love you.'_

The demon tried her hardest to shut them out; to pretend they didn't exist. She tried covering her ears, uttering nonsense to block out the sound. She tried punching them out, and she even tried screaming them away, using her skirt to muffle the sound. But no matter what she did, she could still hear them, taunting her, haunting her. They were like never-ending nightmares that just wouldn't go away no matter what.

She was shaking, panting, hoping and wishing it would all go away. But then, she heard one final laugh from the couple, and that was when she broke.

She let out a gasp, and buried her masked face in her hands as she began sobbing uncontrollably, shedding tear after tear after tear into her palms.

"Heka! Hekapoo!"

But before more tears could be had, a voice reached her ears. A voice so distinct; a voice that was so engraved into her mind, she could tell it apart from a thousand similar ones.

It called out to her again, and he whipped her head around towards the party at breakneck speed. "Marco?" She called out to the dense crowd, her eyes puffy and red and her hopes climbing up.

There was no response, so she tried again, "Marco! Is that you?"

Again, nothing came. She took a moment to await his reply—anything that could confirm he was there. But with each silent second that passed, her hope dwindled, and she was starting to become skeptical. Maybe her ears had been playing tricks on her, or her mind had been taunting her like it had been for the past few minutes, and he wasn't there after all...

The demon was about to wallow in her sorrows once more, when the same voice called out again, "Hekapoo! Where are you?"

Hekapoo turned back to the crowd again. His voice sounded much closer than before, almost as if he was only a short distance away. She craned her neck up and scanned the mass of the guests over, her hope reestablished once more. But it was so packed however, it would take a very patient and observant person to spot any sort of familiar detail.

And she couldn't be darned to be patient nor observant right now.

So, with a new found determination, Hekapoo hopped off her stool and ran off towards the crowd, finding him being the only thing cemented into her mind. She hurriedly squeezed and slithered through the guests, uttering halfhearted pardons and ignoring their worded inconveniences. She occasionally stood on her toes and scanned about to see if she could spot any sign of him, but it only resulted in her catching nothing every time.

Though the demon could see no visual sign of him no matter how hard she looked, his calls continued to grow louder the more steps she took. She was getting closer, she could feel it. As a result, she hurried herself to a near running pace and began lightly pushing guests out of the way. She didn't care about them anymore; she wasn't going to let them slow her down with him being so close.

She pushed and bumped her way through as his voice grew nearer...

And nearer...

And nearer...

And—

After prying her way through a pair of guests, she somehow made her way onto a clearing on the dance floor, and in turn crashed into someone.

"Oof!" The stranger and the demon grunted as they fell on their bottoms, various couples continuing to dance around them as if nothing had happened.

Hekapoo clutched onto her forehead, hissing as it throbbed in pain. After a second of recovery, she slowly got herself off the ground and looked to who she had run into. She didn't recognize whoever was getting himself up, his hand to his forehead in the same way she was. His white tuxedo and decorative skull mask were quite distinctive, though. A stark contrast from the sea of black suits around them.

Remembering she had run into the stranger mere seconds ago, she apologized, "S-so sorry I ran into you. I was... just looking for somebody."

She glanced down for a moment, and noticed a black rose right by her feet, most definitely dropped by the white-wearing stranger.

"Uh, here." She bent down and reached her hand down to grab hold of the dark colored rose. As she went to grab it though, there was a slight, odd tingle that flowed through her fingers, which only grew bigger as her hand got closer and closer.

Her fingertips were now millimeters away from the rose, and the small tingle had gradually turned to a full on jolt.

Then, with a spark equal to lightning strikes on her fingers, she picked it up.

And ten, something happened. Something she absolutely wasn't prepared for; something that she didn't expect would happen in the middle of a crowded dance floor, and with someone she knew nothing of, or even happen at all in her life.

The once black rose glowed red. _Bright red._

The dancing couples and everyone else around her stopped and gasped at the sight, the orchestra stopping their music. Hekapoo froze. Her shocked, widened eyes stared into the glowing red petals, her fingers shaking from the overwhelming tsunami of emotions rushing inside her. Surprise, bewilderment, awe, happiness, fulfillment—a jumble of feelings going so crazy inside of her, she could barely breath.

It was red. The rose went red. Very, very red. She had just found her soulmate; the one she was destined to be with, and that soulmate was the stranger in a white tuxedo and skull mask right in front of her.

A stranger who she barely knew nothing of.

Gathering the last bit of composure and self-control she had left, she tore her eyes away from the red rose and brought them up to him. He was still tending to his forehead, still oblivious to what was happening.

It took a moment, but when he finally looked at her, his eyes went shock wide. His mouth hung open, but no words came out as he gazed upon the bright red rose in the demon's hand. Surprise and utter bafflement ran rampant throughout his mind, and it left him completely blank on what to do, how to react, or knowing whether it was a good thing or bad thing.

After a silent second, he brought her eyes up to her face—the face of his now apparent soulmate. She did so as well, and as a result, their eyes managed to meet. Though their faces were masked, they could see everything with each other's eyes alone.

His eyes were a soft chocolate color. They were so full of warmth and coziness, she could probably stay warm during a snowstorm by just staring at those eyes of his. And even if a stranger owned them, there was a sense of familiarity to them; like she had been seeing those same set of eyes for all of her life.

Which she wouldn't mind doing if she hadn't.

Her eyes, meanwhile, were a fierce orange, which were made even more so with the red glow of the rose in her hands. They looked aggressive, fearsome, like they belonged to a hardened fighter; someone who could put up a fight for days on end. Yet, despite that, they had a subtle softness to them—a completely different side from the prominent ferocity. Which, to be honest, looked like it held some... sadness to it.

But despite that, he couldn't help but stare just a little longer into her eyes. Those fierce, _hypnotic_ eye—

Suddenly, the lights went out with a booming click, leaving the party hall in darkness. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked around in confusion, some squinting their eyes to see through the dark.

Then, right above them all, the ceiling started to diverge with a loud rumble, causing all the guests to look up. A thin ray of moonlight appeared at the center of the hall which grew in size as the now parted ceiling distanced away from each other. After a few more moments, the rumbling ceased, and the ceiling was now replaced by the vast sight of the night sky. Clusters of stars filled it up, and the moon was full and bright. Everyone, even the staff, was seemingly charmed at such a beautiful sight, numerous "Ooo!"s and "Ah!"s filling the hall.

Slow, more soothing classical music started playing from the orchestra. A spotlight clicked on and was redirected towards the demon and the stranger, who were both in the center of it all. Everyone around the two stepped back and cleared up a huge space, giving them the whole dance floor.

The two soulmates stared up at the night sky for one more moment before looking back down at each other, their eyes meeting yet again. Unlike before, their eyes were now glimmering against the lights; sparkling with a sudden, newfound fervor.

As if they were completely mesmerized by each other.

As the music continued to sooth in nicely into their ears, the stranger unexpectedly lifted his hand and offered it to the demon. No words uttered; just that. She looked down at it for moment, a wave of surprise washing over her masked face for a moment from such a wordless action.

Then, like a woman under a charm spell, she took it.

As soon as her hand touched his, he took it as confirmation. He placed his other hand on her hip, and in turn she placed her other hand on his shoulder.

Slowly, the two soulmates began to dance to the soothing music. One step, two step, three step, four step. They danced their way around the dance floor, swaying and twirling with such majesty. They were like two cogs in a clock tower—their movements in such perfect sync. The guests all around them watched with eagerness and "Aw..."ed, captivated by such a romantic sight.

While the two soulmates began to dance the night away, amongst the crowd, a fair distance away from the dance floor, stood a certain butler, looking over the entire event. Standing straight and with his hands behind his back, he continued to watch the new couple dance for a moment more before smiling to himself.

"I'll be seeing both of you at the wedding." He uttered in a low voice, then walked away through the crowd behind him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Star made her way through the crowd to see what was happening. She had been at the bar and asked for some water when the lights went out, then the ceiling suddenly split into two. She thought for a second that there was a monster attack, but then she saw a spotlight cast somewhere on the dance floor, and she knew from that point that something else was going on.

Something _super romantic._

"Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me..." She pardoned herself as she balanced her glass of water in her hand. After pushing past the last few guests in her way, she finally made it in front of everyone.

"Ah, finally, free space! Okay, now what the heck is everyone on about?" The princess said as she took a sip of her water. It didn't take long for her to spot the main attraction that everyone was watching, and when she did...

"PFFFFFffffffffft! Whoa whoa whoa, Hekapoo?!" She yelled as water dripped from her chin, eliciting a few ignored shushes from around her.

A moment later, Tom squeezed through the guests and came up to her side from behind, holding a glass of wine. "Hey, Star. What's going on he—"

Sipping from his wine, he looked towards the dance floor, and—

"PFFFFFFFFFFFFT!"

* * *

"Move it!" The demon king commanded as he pushed a guest out of his way.

For a reason unknown to him, the party had seemingly stopped, and everyone was gathered up at the dance floor, watching something. That something being "the dance of two newfound soulmates" apparently, having heard it from a couple of guests less than a while ago while he was shoving his way through the sea of suits.

Normally, Dave wouldn't care for any kind of romantic event, such as a proposal. Seeing one would often make him envious, reminding him of his failing attempts of marrying another certain demon, and it would most often lead to him burning everything in sight from the jealousy.

But this was the discovery of the two soulmates; a couple whose black rose glowed a bright red. Last he heard, that happening was quite rare, and he wouldn't want to miss such a rare event, romantic or otherwise. Plus, he needed a little break from searching for Hekapoo anyway.

And it would get Buffgator and the others to shut up about wanting to see who the lucky couple were and all that. He seriously did not want to take his infuriation out on them right now.

Dave continued to rudely push and shove more people out of the way as he and the others got closer to the front. The music stayed slow and soothing all throughout, and the charmed and awestruck faces of everyone watching the mystery couple all remained unhindered.

Seeing the front just a few feet away, the demon king picked his pace up a bit. He got closer, and closer, and closer, and after pulling the last two people away from his path, reached the front line along with the other men.

As soon as his eyes laid upon the dance floor, he stopped in his step. The other men stopped behind him as well, and upon seeing what was in front of them, their eyes widened like manholes.

But shock wasn't the only thing Dave was feeling. Oh no, not one bit. As soon as the scene entered his vision, it raised the Underworld inside of him. His blood boiled hotter than the flames of the fiery land down under, his teeth ground hard together like steel against steel, and his more-than-furious eyes burst into big, red flames the size of his tightened fists.

Hekapoo was there, dancing with someone that wasn't him. And she was _absolutely loving it._

Buffgator stared at the scene, shocked and frozen like the other men. When he heard a hissing noise and a low, demonic growl beside him, he looked to his side and saw the very furious demon king, shaking with so much anger, he looked like he was about to explode.

His once shocked eyes now turned into worried and horrified ones. "Uh, s-sir? Are you—"

Dave's booming, demonic roar, fueled with absolute rage and loud as an explosion, cut the alligator before he could say more. Before anyone could react to it, the angered demon king quickly grabbed a nearby chair and raised it above his head, then hurled it towards the dancing couple with great speed.

As soon as they heard the roar, Hekapoo and the stranger stopped their dancing and snapped their gazes to where it came from, only to have a speeding chair crash right into their faces, it exploding into numerous pieces as a result.

The two soulmates flew back from the extreme force, crashing and sliding along the floor. Once they stopped to a halt, Hekapoo moaned from the pain. She clutched onto her face as she slowly got herself up. The chair hadn't done that much damage to her—just a couple of cuts near her lip and cheeks, nothing major.

She now stood on her feet. As she tended to the quickly subsiding ache in her face, she heard a groan to her side. Knowing her soulmate was hit as well, she stopped caring for herself for a second and turned towards the stranger.

Only, the stranger wasn't a stranger anymore.

Hekapoo froze and gasped. Her jaw dropped to the floor, and her eyebrows furrowed deeper than they could. Utter bewilderment along with a storm of jumbled up emotions ran crazy through her off guarded mind like a pack of rabid dogs let loose from their cages.

"M-Marco?!" She managed to yell through her speechlessness.

Hearing her yell, the tuxedo-clad boy brought his bloodied hand away from his forehead and looked to Hekapoo. He was muddled for a moment when he saw the shocked look on her face, but afterwards, realization hit him. He brought his hand to touch the area around his eyes, and felt nothing but skin. Aghast, he then brought his widened gaze to the side, and there, his mask laid on the floor just a few feet away from him.

"Um... uh..." Was all he could think of to say as he looked back to the demon, his face as pale as his tuxedo.

A rumble then shook the ground, and the duo brought their attention towards the side, where the demon king stood seething and burning with rage. Everyone around, even the staff, had realized the doom that was to happen, and they all ran screaming less than a second later, scurrying to the exit like ants. The only ones left now were Star, Tom, the duo, and the other ex-husbands.

Fiery-eyed and teeth grinding, Dave thrust a clawed finger at the boy. "YOU!" He yelled in a demonic voice dripping with rage, "You annoying, little, good-for-nothing piece of trash! I don't know how you managed to get in here without an invitation, but one thing's for sure: NO ONE STEALS MY DANCE WITH HEKAPOO AWAY FROM ME!"

Beside him, Rottington lifted a finger. "Uh, don't you mean 'our—'" He was about to say, but was immediately cut off by Dave's "GET HIM!"

All at once, the other ex-husbands charged towards Marco. Battle cries echoed through the hall, rushing feet patted and pounded on the checkered floor, weapons of all variety being brandished at the boy. They moved so quick, Marco could do nothing but stay frozen and raise his wimpy arms up to defend himself, waiting for the intense pain that was to come.

But thankfully, he was left unwounded as a large fireball tore through the air and shot itself right into the mass of ex-husbands, stopping their impending beat down. As soon as screams, thuds and grunts were heard, Marco lowered his arms and cast his widened eyes at the mass of charred ex-husbands on the floor, some of whom were already struggling to get up.

Panting and sweating, Hekapoo snapped her head to behind her and pointed to the princess. "Star! Tom! You two and Marco take care of the others. I'll handle Dave!"

"Sure thing!" Star replied, taking her wand out and charging towards the fight with a battle cry.

A laser-sword-wielding Spacecat charged towards the boy on his jetpack, and immediately tried to swing his sword at his face. But the boy was quick enough to step away, and countered with a kick to the cat's gut. Spacecat yelped and stumbled back from the force. The boy then charged forward himself, his fist raised up to punch cat on the face. He went for the hit, but the cat managed to shoot out a field manipulator beam from his jet pack straps and catch his fist just in time. Surprised, he tried to yank his hand away, but he couldn't even get the chance too as Spacecat immediately hurled the boy away.

Marco tore through the air, and promptly crashed through the floor amongst an abundance of tables. Moaning from the pain, he pulled himself up to his feet using a table beside him. As soon as he got up however, he was immediately grabbed and pulled by his collar and hair by Rottington, who had been sneaking behind him with his mouth wide open to bite upon the boy's head.

"Let me have your brain!" The zombie exclaimed in a growl.

As Marco yelped and thrashed to break free from the zombie's grasp, he managed to catch sight of a chair tearing through the air, shooting towards him with particles of a field manipulator trailing behind it. An idea quickly came to him. Once Rottington's hands was off his arm, he yanked it outward and elbowed the zombie in the gut. Rottington grunted and recoiled back, clutching on his rotting stomach. Marco immediately dove out of the way before the chair managed to smash into him, and it instead crashed into Rottington, his body parts flying everywhere like bowling pins.

The zombie's screaming head soared through the air, and a moment later, it bounced off the ground a couple of times before landing on a chocolate fountain by the buffet, splashing the chocolate everywhere on the table.

"AH! NO! Not the mud pit! Anything but the mu—" Rottington screamed at first, then immediately calmed down when the taste of chocolate reached his tongue. He licked his lips some more, and hummed in delight. "Mm. Oh wow, this mud actually tastes amazing. I could get used to this!"

Marco took his gaze away from where Rottington once stood and turned around, only to be immediately met with Spacecat high up in the air, storming down towards him with his laser sword raised above him, jet pack at full speed.

"YAAAH!" The cat cried out.

Marco's eyes widened for a split a second, and he frantically turned about for anything to defend himself with. When his eyes landed upon a nearby chair, he immediately grabbed it, and once Spacecat was near enough, swung it at the storming feline like a baseball bat. The chair exploded as a result, and Spacecat was promptly smacked off his course, flying away uncontrollably before crash landing to the floor in a mini explosion.

Marco stared to where Spacecat had flown and crashed to. Wide eyed, he looked down at his hands, which held the head of the now broken chair.

"Whoa..."

As soon as he heard the clanking of metal quickly closing in on him though, he snapped around, and was immediately met with a metal arm to his chest. He flew through the air yelping, and grunted as he landed hard on the floor once again. After a moment of recovery, the boy slowly got up to his feet, clutching onto his now aching chest. He groaned from the pain, and looked to where he once was. There stood Armless Blacksmith, his charred face housing a wide grin as his many metal arms held maces and hammers, all looking ready to beat the boy to a pulp.

A moment later, Armless Blacksmith charged towards the boy, his weapon-wielding metal arms raised up above him, to which Marco quickly got into a defensive stance. A hammer-wielding arm was first to strike down on him, but the boy managed to dodge roll to the side in time, letting the hammer miss and crack the checkered floor instead. He turned back and rushed his way towards the blacksmith. Another arm made to hit with a mace to his side, but he managed to duck under that one and keep moving.

As Marco got closer to him, the boy jumped and raised a karate chop over his head. "Eeeeyah!" He yelled. However, his attack was stopped when Armless Blacksmith managed to smash a mace right into his hip. The boy screamed, flew through the air, and crashed down onto the floor. He slid and squeaked along the ground, and once he slowed to a stopped, he laid there, clutching his side and moaning in pain. He tried to get himself up, but found it difficult with the searing pain on his side.

The blacksmith approached the downed boy on his metal arms. He stopped at his feet, and with a manic grin, raised a hammer above him.

"Say goodnight, Mar—OOF!" Fortunately for the boy, a rainbow colored boulder shot through the air and struck the blacksmith dead center on his chest, sending him soaring through the air to the other side of the party hall.

He looked to where the blacksmith had flown to with wide eyes. Once he got up, Marco looked behind him, and said, "Thanks, Star!"

Aiming her wand at where the blacksmith once was, the princess said back, "You're welco—WHOA, WATCH OUT!"

As soon as he turned around, Marco was met with the tip of a knife darting towards his face. With a short gasp, his hands immediately shot up and gripped on the dark, furry hands that held it, stopping it just a mere inch from the bridge of his nose.

"Time to get some steel in ya, safe kid!" Flyguy yelled.

The fly pushed the knife deeper towards the boy, eliciting a grunt from him as he tried to push it back. With all the strength he could muster, the boy managed to push the knife away a bit. A psychotic grin on his furry face, Flyguy was about to counter and push it deeper, but was caught off guard when the boy quickly took a hand off his wrist and punched him straight in the eye.

He flew back, grasping on his bruised eye. With the fly dazed, Marco was able to grab hold of the knife and hurl it away, somehow hitting Handsome Vampire right on the forehead with the knife's handle, knocking him out as the vampire yelled, "Ow, my beautiful, perfect face!"

The boy then grabbed hold of the fly's foot, and with a yelp from the fly, started swinging him above his head like a lasso. Flyguy let out a throaty scream as everything whizzed and became blurs in his vision. Meanwhile, off to his side, Mud Monster stormed towards him with a sword sticking out of his palm, intent on slicing the boy in half. Once he was close though, Marco promptly shot the fly at him. The monster of mud had no time to react as the speeding and screaming fly tore right into him, causing his whole body to splatter into a million chunks of mud, dropping the sword onto the floor.

Marco grinned for a moment as the downed fly moaned in pain. That was, before a two-footed kick struck him on the back, sending him tumbling down to the checkered floor.

He grunted once he thudded onto the ground, "Oof!"

"Hahahaha! How'd you like that, slick? Too fast for ya? Well, too bad, slowpoke! I'm fast and twitchy as heck! Hahahaha!" Twitch laughed as he began jumping in circles, his blood shot eyes crazy as ever.

Marco groaned, both from pain and annoyance. "I hate you so much..." He said as he got himself up ready to fight the jumpy, hyperactive rabbit.

Meanwhile, Star was raining down kicks and punches upon a bruised, bat-wielding Buffgator. Punch after punch; kick after kick. She just kept going at it. The wounded alligator tried to fight back, attempting to swing his bat down at her in between her kicks. His last efforts were worthless though as she easily dodged away to the side, and with a "Hiya!", sent a powerful high kick to the side of his head, knocking him out.

There was no break for the panting princess however. As soon as her feet planted themselves back on the ground, a dirty kick to the back sent her stumbling and thudding to the floor. "Oof!" She grunted.

Quickly, she rolled herself over so that her body faced upward, and she was met with fast approaching, shadowy claws. With fast reflexes, she managed to roll out of the way just in time to save her face from a bloody clawing. Stopping to a halt, she immediately jumped up from the floor and onto her feet, where she was now facing the Shadow Twins, their claws long and sharp and their eyes blood red as ever.

Star didn't have the time to grab her wand from her dress pocket as the first twin charged and tried to slash her face. She stepped just out of its reach, and countered with a punch to his shadowy cheek and a kick to his gut. She tried to go for another punch to his cheek, but the second twin managed to step in time and grab a hold of her wrist, then sent an uppercut to her stomach.

He sent another punch again, and again, and again. But once the fourth punch was about to come, Star managed to react in time and sent a strong kick to his you-know-what, causing him to howl in pain and let go of her wrist.

As the first twin started to come at her again with his claws up, the princess quickly fished out her wand and struck it against the oncoming twin's head, making him fall down in a daze. She then stepped back, aimed her wand at both of the twins, and yelled out, "Icy Kunai Hailstorm!"

Her wand glowed blue, and with a rapidly growing hum, a barrage of frosty knives shot towards the twins in a cold aura of water vapor. Kunais hit their shadow bodies by the millisecond, and although they were not deathly to them, they hurt a lot. They screamed and hissed in pain as the icy kunais pierced their bodies, and once the storm of kunais stopped, the twins dropped to the floor, knocked out and covered in a barrage of icy knives.

She went to smile at her handiwork, but as with before, there was no rest just yet. In front of her, Mr. Antlers, Bear, and Orion were all storming towards her. The suit-clad deer was riding on top of Bear, his open briefcase brandished at her. The inside was filled with numerous sharp teeth and had a long, pointy-tipped tongue that ducked under the numerous fire arrows that shot out from inside. And right beside them, Orion was firing fiery stars at the princess, all of them coming from the various that were already circling around his celestial body.

As the deathly, fiery projectiles came tearing through the air at her, she smirked. She jumped, ducked, and cart wheeled her way backwards, dodging all the oncoming shots by mere centimeters. She did this for a few seconds more until the barrage stopped for a second, and she landed back on her feet, a bit wobbly from all the spinning.

Using the break in shots to her advantage, she quickly aimed her wand at the charging trio, then cast, "Ultra Super Mega Rainbow Laser Destruction!"

The trio of ex-husbands hadn't even had the time to widen their eyes as a large beam of blinding colors emerged and shot out from the wand. It enveloped them quickly with a loud "vweeeem", and after a second, the beam stopped, and revealed a group of even more charred ex-husbands, wide eyed and burning in some places.

The deer puffed out a bit of smoke from his mouth as he slid off the bear, dropping onto the floor into unconsciousness. The other two quickly followed the same fate, with the bear dropping right on top of the deer and the decagonal star cracking like glass, then falling down to the floor.

A triumphant Star smiled at her handiwork. She brought her wand to her face and gave it a smooch. "Man, I can never thank you enough, wand."

Nearby, Hekapoo was clinging onto the back of the Dave's collar, repeatedly striking his head with a fiery fist. The demon king, who had grown in significant size from his now maddened, more demonic state, thrashed about like a bull as he swiped his hands at the demon to grab her, which Hekapoo managed to jump up from their reach every time.

"You just can't give me a break for one night, can you?!" She yelled once she landed back down on his back once again, sending another bevy of punches to his head.

The wrathful demon king continued to flail about, grunting each time her flaming fist met his head. Through grinding teeth, he roared, "Not when you're dancing with someone that ISN'T ME!"

He then sent another quick swipe at her so far-reaching, he could have dislocated his shoulder. She tried to jump off of him to dodge, but his fingers managed to grab hold of her feet, and she was instead thrown off his back.

Screaming, she tore through the air, then crashed back down onto the checkered floor. Her body slid, squeaked and rolled for a bit, before finally slowing down to a stop a few meters away from where the demon king stood.

As she slowly started to get up, she moaned in pain, "Ow..."

Panting, the demon king stomped his way over to her, the ground rumbling with every step as his body literally burned from his wrath. Once there, he raised his large, flaming fist up above his head, ready to squash the downed demon to a pulp.

"Hekapoo!" Marco's voice yelled from nearby as a table shot its way towards Dave's face, rainbows and sparkles trailing behind it. It exploded into numerous charred pieces upon impact, to which the demon king stumbled back, clutching onto his now pained face.

Star and Marco ran up towards Hekapoo's sides, the demon now on her feet, slightly bruised. The boy, who had a few cuts and bruises on his face and cuts on his tuxedo, brought his eyes over to the demon king.

Upon seeing his fiery, grown form, his eyes widened. "Oh gosh..."

"Star, keep him busy!" Hekapoo said, teeth grinding along a look of anger, "Marco, come with me!"

With a curt nod and a cry of battle, Star charged towards the flaming demon king, wand raised above her head like a mace.

Once Dave recovered from the hit, he noticed the trio storming towards him. With a rageful scowl upon his face, he clasped his hands together, then brought them apart, forming a huge fireball between his palms and hurling it at the princess. The ball of fire shot at her like a mini meteor, but she managed to dodge roll away in time, the tips of her hairs lightly grazing the flames. Dave conjured and threw another one, only to have it be dodged and miss her entirely.

Once they got close, Star promptly launched herself to the king's height with a burst of rainbow. She then aimed her wand at him, and cast, "Ice Cream Flurry!"

A burst of delicious, colorful ice cream shot out of the wand and slammed into the demon king. Dave roared from the icy pain, his flaming body hissing and dwindling in fire from the hit. Star landed on the floor, then quickly rainbow blasted herself up again for another shot, to which the demon kept on recoiling from her continuous shots.

As the princess kept on blasting the king with icy deliciousness, Hekapoo and Marco were busy tying a bunch of table cloths together, forming one long line of white cloth. Their plan was to somehow have the demon king trip and fall to the floor, and use the small window of time to knock him out with a hit to the head, possibly with a giant boulder made by Star. It probably wasn't going to work, but it was the best plan they could think of right now, and almost every other plan wouldn't work on a giant, angry, flaming demon king.

After tying off the last of the cloth together, the two then grabbed each end of the line, and turned towards the demon king. "Star! Aim at his feet!" Hekapoo shouted.

"You got it!" Blasting off to the air once again, she aimed down at the demon king's feet and shot a couple more ice cream flurries at them. The fires hissed and dwindled from the shots, and Dave was starting to back away at the attacks.

Once the flames had abated enough, Hekapoo and Marco charged towards the king's feet, carrying the ends of the long cloth line between them. Closing in on him, they separated and ran until the cloth stretched into a straight line, and once they reached his feet, they both looped around and wrapped his feet once, ensuring the cloth would hold in place.

And with all the strength they could muster, they pulled and pulled, trying their hardest to tip the demon king over. But with his enormous size, it proved difficult for the two; they just kept on tugging to little result.

Meanwhile, Tom was watching the fight from afar behind an overturned table. He had been hiding behind it for the entire brawl, occasionally popping up to get a glimpse of his friends (and stranger, having never met Marco in his life before) while simultaneously ducking under stray fireballs and burning chairs.

As Star launched herself up into air once more, she somehow managed to glance behind her and notice her boyfriend's horns and third eye sticking out from the table he hid behind.

"Tom! Why aren't you helping us!" She called out to him as she shot another flurry of ice cream.

Tom's head fully popped up from behind, and yelled back, "Star, you know I can't- Whoa!" He quickly ducked underneath a stray chunk of ice cream, "You know I can't fight my dad, Star! It will only make him even angrier!"

"Still! You could like, help us from afar or somethi—AH!" When she propelled herself up into the air once again, she was suddenly punched by the king's fiery fist, and she was knocked back towards Tom's direction.

Her charred, screaming body tore through the air at swift speeds, inevitably crash landing onto the floor, sliding to a stop right beside the table where Tom hid.

"Star!" The young demon shouted. He got up and dashed towards her, but once he got there, two more screams quickly filled the air, and he was promptly squashed by Hekapoo, who was holding a torn end of the cloth, now half-scorched. Marco landed right by them half a second later, his hands grabbing hold of the other torn end of the cloth, which was also burnt.

The group all groaned and grogged about, bruises and cuts covering their skins and clothes. Tom rolled Hekapoo off of him, and ignoring the aching in his ribs the best could, looked towards his father.

His eyes widened in fear of the scene. His father's flames were growing bigger by the second, as so did his size. He was completely enveloped in fire, and the only definable features Tom could see were two blood red, furious eyes where his face would have been. The party hall felt like the inside of a volcano on the sun, and he could see the floor where his father stood was starting to melt. His father's speech of distorted wails and old ancient language was completely incomprehensible to the demon, and it was so loud, his eardrums threatened to explode.

Over by the now empty chocolate fountain, Rottington looked up at the wrathful demon with a fearful look. "Well, I'm outta here!" He exclaimed, his decaying head hopping off the fountain and buffet, then towards the exit.

Watching his father in fear, Tom quickly got up. "We need to get out of here!" He exclaimed to the others. He pulled them all up, the agonizing pain in his ribs almost making him scream. They were all still dazed, so Tom quickly searched through Star's pockets, and after rummaging around, pulled out her dimensional scissors.

With no time wasted, he ripped open a portal, and brought the others through it. Before he could get in though, he looked back towards his father. His flames were like the waves of a raging sea storm, and he now practically as big as the manor itself. The other ex-husbands had already awaken from their stupors, and were all running away in utter fear for their lives.

Seeing the chaos unfold, Tom sent a quick, but piercing glare at his father. He turned back to the portal, and jumped inside, closing it right before the party hall exploded with fire.

* * *

Echo Creek's night sky was, as usual, starry. It was more so tonight, though. Absolute clusters of them were scattered nearly everywhere possible, a few with stars brighter and prominent than others. It was like the entirety of the universe had shown itself for the night, bringing wonder and majesty to the ones who had the chance to see it.

To put it simply, it was beautiful.

Right outside on the pathway to the dim Diaz residence, a portal was ripped open, giving out a sky blue glow that lit up the grass and pathway around it. A moment later, Hekapoo and Marco stepped out, their clothes ripped and torn and the boy wrapped in a few rolls of bandages.

After escaping into Star's room, the princess and the young demon had offered to fix him up a bit. They weren't so good at it though; much of the bandages weren't tight enough, and Star had used normal sewing thread rather than sterilized, synthetic ones for the stitching. He was about to call it out to them, being a safe kid and all, but after getting shushed by Hekapoo and told to let them work multiple times, he just kept quiet about it. On the bright side, at least it would keep him from bleeding everywhere until he got some actual medical help.

Right behind them, Star and Tom stepped out, only taking a step away from the portal before stopping.

"So are you guys sure you're going to be okay?" Tom asked, his clothes a little less worn down than the other three.

Hekapoo shrugged. "Yeah, I think so. But I should probably be asking that question to you, Tom. I mean, your dad practically blew an entire manor up."

"Yeah, well, I think I'm gonna stay at Star's place for a bit," The young demon replied, scratching the back of his neck, "Having to do accounting stuff for the manor damages is most likely going to put my dad in a very bad mood for like a month, and I seriously don't wanna deal with that."

"And we get to spend some more time together! Right?" Star exclaimed in a cheery tone, despite having been burnt and punched by a giant, flaming fist not too long ago.

Tom chuckled at the princess' cheeriness, then patted her disheveled blonde mane. "Haha, of course, Starship."

"Okay well, thanks for helping us out again, Tom," Marco said, "Or well... it's more like helping just me out because Hekapoo wasn't... uh... you know, um... y-yeah."

Beside the boy, Hekapoo simply rolled her eyes at him, hints of an amused smile appearing on her lips. She looked back towards the other two, and said, "Well, it's getting quite late now, me and Marco should probably head inside now."

"Oh yeah, of course." Tom replied, "I... guess we'll see you around?"

"Yeah, sure." The demon said back. With that, Hekapoo and Marco began making their way over to the house as Tom and Star closed the portal. But before the couple could, Hekapoo quickly looked back and called out to them, remembering something. "Wait! Hey, Tom!"

Star brought her scissor's back down, ripping the portal open just a bit to reveal their faces, their eyebrows raised.

With a soft smile, Hekapoo said, "I'll video call you tomorrow, yeah?"

Upon hearing those words from her, Tom couldn't fight back a smile of his own. "I'm sure you will." He said back. After which, they both said their last goodbyes before Star brought the scissors back up, fully closing the portal with a swipe and leaving the front yard as dun as it was before.

The remaining two continued making their way to the front door. Once there, Marco reached into his pocket for his keys, only to have his hand meet with nothing but lint. He then started patting frantically at his other pockets, muttering out "Where is it?" as he panicked.

Seeing him pat himself desperately, Hekapoo raised a brow. "Hey, what's wrong?"

After going through another pat down over his clothes, Marco's arms dropped to the side in defeat, and he sighed.

"I lost the keys."

"You lost the keys...?" Hekapoo repeated, as if it was the most bizarre thing she had ever heard.

Marco just nodded in response. Letting out another quick sigh, he knelt down and took a seat on the concrete, slouching upon the door with his knees tucked up to his chest. "Well, looks like we're gonna be stuck outside until my parents get home. Gosh, why do I have to be such a safe kid and lock everything?"

"Hey, come on. Don't beat yourself up now," Hekapoo said, taking a seat right beside him, "I mean, it's not that bad. It's not cold, and it's quiet. Plus, almost every star is out tonight. Just look at the sky!"

As she gestured at the night sky, Marco looked up. Upon seeing the beautiful clusters of stars sprinkled about in the atmosphere, he couldn't help but agree with her, "Okay, you're right. It really is beautiful..."

He then turned to look at her, and somehow managed to admit, "But not as beautiful as the way you danced though."

Hekapoo's eyes widened, her face flushing a bit from his statement. She got her back off the door, and looked towards him with a raised eyebrow and, despite her flushiness, the hints of a smile. "Whoa there, since when did you get all flirty, huh?"

Marco raised a brow of his own. "What? No, I'm serious. You dance like, really really good." He said, the tone in his voice not betraying his intention one bit. "Seriously, I didn't even know you could dance that well."

The demon simply shrugged in response. "Well yeah, me neither. I was surprised I didn't mess up one time. You though," She pointed at him, "Like, wow! You're even better than me. Did you take dancing lessons or something?"

"Nope," He replied, shaking his head, "I guess I'm in the same boat as you are. I have absolutely no idea how I managed to dance with you for like, five minutes straight with crushing your toes."

"Huh... must be because of the rose." She slouched back onto the door, her thoughtful eyes squinting out into the dim neighborhood. "Still though, you danced good. That was actually the most fun I had all night."

"Really?"

"Yup. I was getting kinda..." She halted for a moment, searching for the right words to say as she avoided looking at him, "Uh... bored, and then you arrived, somehow... wait, how did you actually get in?"

Marco shrugged. "A butler barged into the house, asked me some questions, and then gave me an invitation. I have no idea why though. He said he had been watching the whole time. Kinda creepy, to be honest."

"Huh, wow." She huffed out an amused breath, a smile making its way up her lips. She looked to the night sky as she said, "Man, this is one really crazy night for both of us, huh?"

"Yeah, really crazy." He said, leaning back and looking up at the sky with her as well. He turned to face her with a smile. "But I'm glad it happened though. Dancing with you and fighting a raged demon king was actually the most fun things that happened this week, even though we nearly died. Still, I don't regret it, not one bit."

At his words, Hekapoo's smile widened just a tad more. The two continued to watch and admire the stars above in silence. It was serene, peaceful; like there was absolutely nothing wrong in the world, and they could just sit there all night, gazing up at the beauty high in the atmosphere.

That was, until the peaceful aura around Marco had dissipated, replaced by the worry caused by a single thought—one that he had been ignoring all night.

"I-It's not real, is it...?"

Hekapoo turned to him with an arched brow. "Hm? What's not real?"

"The whole... soulmate rose thing..." He said, the disquiet in his voice clear as glass. "It's not real, right?"

"Oh, um..." Hekapoo glanced away for a moment. Not in thought though, but hearing him say those words, as if he was hoping it actually wasn't, it caused a feeling inside of her. It felt like a sting inside her chest that was the size of a needle point, continuously pricking and messing with her insides. She didn't know what it exactly was; all she knew was that it was nothing good.

Pushing all thoughts of the mysterious feeling aside, she finally replied, "I... don't actually know. I heard all of that soulmate stuff from Star, and you know how she is with anything romantic. But if I had to guess... probably not."

There it was again, the mysterious feeling in her chest popping up as she said those words. Really strange, it was. She quickly ignored it though, and reluctantly continued, "I mean, the whole black rose thing is probably just some fake superstition that everyone was dumb enough to believe back then. Or maybe it was just a hook to get people to come to the party, I don't know."

"Oh, so... I'm gonna... take that as a no then." Hekapoo wasn't sure since it was so subtle, but she must have a heard him let out a relieved sigh. No matter if he did or not, that seemed to have brought the mysterious feeling back in her chest, and it was way stronger than before—to the point where it actually stung a bit.

Though it was a bit worrying to her, she ultimately thought of it as just lingering pain from the fight a while ago, and ignored it once again.

Silence loomed over two once more, but unlike the calm, peaceful one from before, it held a more awkward air around them. The demon took a few side glances the boy, the sting in her chest still lingering and noticeable. Eventually, the awkward aura got to her, and she tried to break the silence by talking to him, but her words were kept shut inside when two honks of a car had drawn their attentions.

"Well, looks like they're here." Marco said, nodding towards the car approaching the house. He got up and dusted his clothes of rubble, then looked down at her. "So, you still up for Movie Night?"

"Movie Night? Um..." The demon hummed in thought. Movie Night seemed like a great way to end the crazy night they had, but she wasn't really keen on spending the rest of it sitting on the couch, nor was she really in the mood for movies.

Then, an idea came to her.

"How about we go camping?

Marco raised an eyebrow. "Camping? Like in the backyard?"

The demon shrugged. "Well, yeah sure. It's the weekend, it's a nice night outside, and we haven't gone stargazing in a while. It'd be fun."

The boy thought over it for a moment. All her points were true, especially the nice night part. And thinking about it some more, it would be a nice change of pace—ending the night in calm seemed like a great idea.

So, as he nodded approvingly at the thought, he said, "Alright, looks like we're going camping then. Just give me a few minutes to help my parents out for a bit and grab some stuff. I'll meet you in the backyard."

"Okay." Hekapoo sent him a smile, which he returned as he walked away towards his parents, helping them take out art supplies from the car's trunk.

Watching him, she couldn't help but smile just a bit more. The unknown feeling in her chest had long since faded away since agreement of their upcoming stargazing, and was now replaced an equally subtle, but impactful warm feeling that reach all around her, like being wrapped in a warm, cozy blanket next to a fireplace.

As he spoke to his mom—presumably about the bandages—she dug into her dress pocket. Her hand rummaged around for a bit, and after a moment, she pulled out the red rose from before, its petals glowing brightly as she held it in her hand. She stared at it, admiring its pretty, red aura for what could have been a minute or two.

Then, when curiosity struck her, she brought the rose up to her nose and took a long, deep sniff.

 _'Huh. It smells just like him...'_


	11. sorry

hello.

sorry to all who have been waiting for over a month for a new chapter, but i posted this to say that the fic will be put in a indefinite hiatus.

i'm burnt out on the fandom. i'm not really interested in star vs. any more, and i've been going into other fandoms as a result (though i haven't made fanfictions based on them yet, so don't go looking for them).

and unless season 4 comes sooner and it's actually good, or there's some new fanfic that looks interesting enough that i get hooked right back in, there will be no new chapters in a long while. i may rewrite a few of the current chapters to make them better, but like i said, unless i get hooked in to the fandom again, that's all there's gonna be.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

and no, it's not a joke this time.

sorry for disappointing you all.

goodbye for now, and a happy new years.


End file.
